Today's weather for Malta, Malta4th Jul 2009 03:00

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Weather Overview for Malta

The island of Malta experiences a Mediterranean climate, characterised by hot dry summers and mild wet winters. The climate is heavily influenced by the sea.

Average temperature across the year is a very pleasant 18°C, varying from 12°C in January to 30°C in July and August. Yearly rainfall is low, at around 600mm and most of this falls during thunderstorms in late autumn and winter.

The summer in Malta is long and very hot with almost no rainfall. June to September sees average daytime highs of around 30°C. These high temperatures are often relieved by cooling sea breezes; however the island can see temperatures soaring up to the 40s when the sirocco wind blows from Africa. This hot dry wind blows in from the African continent bringing stifling and uncomfortable temperatures. Summer nights are very warm too, with temperatures in July and August rarely falling below the mid-20s. This makes air-conditioning very desirable!

From May to August rainfall is virtually non-existent; in fact in July average rainfall is negligible, while it is less than 10mm per month in May, June and August. September, although still receiving high summer temperatures, sees more rainfall as thunderstorms begin to arrive towards the end of the month.

Like September, October also receives around 70mm of rainfall on average. Again most of this falls as heavy rain during occasional thunderstorms, meaning that these months still see a significant amount of sunshine. November to January is the wettest period of the year – November is the wettest month on average, with 116mm of rain on average. However the month still receives an average of 7 sunshine hours per day since rainfall mainly falls heavily for short periods.

Autumn temperatures are very pleasant. The hot summer weather begins to cool from late September. October sees daytime highs in the mid 20s and November days can still be t-shirt wearing weather with temperatures in the low 20s. The nights begin to cool off too, making autumn a very pleasant time to visit the island if you don’t mind the occasional rainfall.

Winter is mild making the island a popular destination to escape the cold weather in northern Europe. December days are often in the high teens, while January and February are only a little cooler. Temperatures rarely fall into single figures, and winter days see a good amount of sunshine -  5 to 6 hours  per day on average.  It is, however, not  uncommon to get two or three days of stormy and very windy weather during winter.  The winds can often be gale force.

Spring sees perhaps the best weather of the year, with low rainfall and comfortable temperatures. Daytime highs are around 20°C from March, rising up to the mid 20s by May. Evenings are still cool in March, but by May they are warm. There is low rainfall in spring – 37mm average in March, dropping to 27mm in April then as low as 10mm in May.

Sea temperatures make swimming pleasant from June right through to November. In these months the average temperature is 21°C, while it rises up to 26°C in late summer. The sea is at its coolest in winter at 15°C.

Like anywhere, Malta can experience out of the ordinary weather. For example 1999 saw a record temperature of 44°C recorded. Hail storms can be experienced on the island, and even the very occasional ground frost. Some years may be particularly dry compared to the average, or others particularly warm.

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