• Maximum air temperature for season reached in July at 39.6°C
• 18 and 19 August were brightest summer days with 13.2 hours of sunshine
• 10 September was the wettest day of the season

The Maltese islands basked in a monthly average of 325 hours of summer sunshine last season, and experienced air temperatures that ranged between a lowest minimum of 18.5°C and a maximum of 39.6°C.

The season opened on a sweltering note, with June going down on record as the hottest one in Malta since 1923. The highest maximum temperature for summer was reached early on, when mercury neared the 40°C mark amid a heatwave that hit the islands between the 8th and 10th July.

Islanders and tourists made waves of their own as they took to the beach to cool down. However, mean sea temperatures were higher than the climate norm for every summer month throughout the season. The season’s highest mean sea surface temperature was reached in August at 27.3°C.

Rumbling in after August with five thunderstorms within the first 11 days, the start of September reminded one and all that a change in season was on the horizon. 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. On the other hand, the brightest summer days were the 18th and 19th August, clocking up 13.2 hours of sunshine each.