This July greeted local residents with warmer weather than usual with an average temperature of 28.1 ˚C as opposed to the climate norm of 26.6 ˚C. The average maximum temperature rose to 33.1 ˚C, accompanied also by a higher minimum temperature of 23.1 ˚C, surpassing the average 21.7 ˚C.

The highest temperature ever recorded for the month of July was on the 9th of July, 1988, when the heat reached 42.7 ˚C. This year, the 31st of July marked the hottest day of the year so far, with the thermometer showing 38.4 ˚C. The lowest temperature last month was recorded on the 1st of the month with the temperature briefly dropping to 20.2 ˚C. In July, seven days had a maximum temperature of 35 ˚C or over, two of which (21st and 31st) peaked at 5 ˚C more than the maximum norm of 31.6 ˚C.

Last month, the Met office issued three separate heat advisory warnings for the public, on the 16th, 18th and 29th. The public was warned of the temperature reaching a maximum of 35 ˚C or more for the coming days.

The average sea surface temperature for July was 26.3 ˚C, which is notably higher than the expected 24.7 ˚C. The highest seas surface temperature for July was registered on the 23rd and 24th at 28.2 ˚C, while the lowest value was 22.8 ˚C on the 1st of the month.

July was considerably brighter than estimated, surpassing the expected average of 11.7 hours and instead providing a mean of 12.3 hours. The sun shone longest on the 2nd of July, with 13.3 hours of sunlight recorded and was the dullest on the 14th with a value of 10.1 hours. In total, 382.1 hours of bright sunshine graced our islands this month, higher than the norm of 364.1 hours.

The total amount of precipitation in July amounted to 0.2mm, which is expected for this time of the year. This dew was measured on the 7th of July. Humidity varied drastically, between 95% on the 12th of the month and 19% on the 31st, resulting in an average of 67% for the month of July. The average cloud cover was 0.94 oktas, with the norm being 0.9 oktas.

The average speed for wind last month was 6.1 knots. The strongest gust occurred on the 27th of July, reaching a force of 25 knots, which blew in from the northwest. This year, July was characterised by light winds between 1 and 10 knots, with occasional variable winds.