Highest temperature in June was 36.4 degrees

The Maltese islands experienced more sunny days and high temperatures throughout the month of June as spring made way for summer. The first day of the season was bathed in 12.7 hours of sunshine and saw air temperatures reach a pleasant 29°C, the Meteorological Office said yesterday.

The last days of June were not anticipated with much enthusiasm, however, as a yellow weather warning issued by the Meteorological Office indicated that very high temperatures would bring the month to a sweltering close. On both the 29 and 30 June, the temperature shot up to a maximum of 36.4°C, prompting many to try to keep refreshed with regular dips in the sea.

The average sea temperature for June was 1.8°C higher than the climate norm of 21.5°C, while the average air temperature was 25.3°C rather than the expected 23.9°C.

Days were also brighter than expected, enjoying an average of 11.5 hours of sunshine. While the sun shone for a maximum of 13 hours on 15, 16 and 17 June, the 6th was the gloomiest day of the month with a mere 2.1 hours of sunshine registered.

On the day, a thunderstorm produced 4.8mm of the total precipitation of 7.2mm recorded in June. This total exceeded the climatic norm by 4.0mm, but the month was nowhere near as wet as June 2007, when 76.2mm of rainfall were measured.

Last month’s mean wind speed was 6.6 knots, and the maximum wind gust was recorded on the 18th of June at 30 knots.