There was a monthly average of 325 hours of summer sunshine during this years summer season, when the Maltese Islands experienced air temperatures that ranged between a lowest minimum of 18.5°C and a maximum of 39.6°C, the Met Office said today.

June went down on record as the hottest one in Malta since 1923. The highest maximum temperature for summer was reached early on, when mercury came close to the 40°C mark amid a heatwave that hit the islands between the 8th and 10th July.

The mean sea temperatures were higher than the climate norm for every summer month throughout the season, with highest reached in August at 27.3°C, the Met Office said.

There were five thunderstorms within the first 11 days of September, producing 12.2 mm of rain, the 10th September was both the wettest day of the month and of the season. In total, 31.7 mm of precipitation were measured during the summer months.

The 10th September was also the season’s gloomiest day, with the sun appearing for a fleeting 0.1 hours, with the 18th and 19th of August the brightest summer days, clocking up 13.2 hours of sunshine each.

Photograph by Alain Salvary

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