The maximum temperature of 41.5°C in June, set a new record for the month, the Met Office said today.
A heatwave that stretched from the 20th of June until the 1st of July plunged the Maltese islands right into the summer season.
The Met Office explained that during the latter part of June, hot air coming from the Sahara Desert was trapped by a high-pressure system over the central Mediterranean, leading the temperature in Malta to rise until it reached a blistering 41.5°C on the last day of the month.
It said that this is the highest June temperature on the Meteorological Office’s records, which date back to 1923 for the month.
The mean sea surface temperature too was considerably higher than expected at this time of year, surpassing the monthly norm of 21.5°C by 1.9°C.
The Met Office went on to say that at 31.0°C – last June’s mean maximum air temperature was 2.4°C higher than the norm.
Referring to meteorological records for the month, it said that they show that June 2019 remains the hottest June in the past five years, with a mean maximum temperature of 31.4°C.
Hazy weather dominated the latter part of the month, as the presence of dust in suspension and high-level clouds on multiple occasions obscured the sun.
June was not in fact as sunny as expected, with the total hours of sunshine recorded falling 34 hours short of the monthly sunshine quota of 328 hours.
Clocking up just two hours of sunshine, June 2 was the month’s dullest and only wet day. Precipitation measured on the day amounted to a paltry 0.8mm, making the month markedly drier than the norm of 4.0mm.
June was also slightly calmer than expected, having maintained a mean wind speed that was 0.2 knots below the monthly norm of 7.6 knots. June 26 accounted for the month’s maximum gust of 29 knots blowing from a northwesterly direction.
Photo by Alain Salvary