Hot and sticky weather but no heatwave, as Met Office expects rain on Thursday

The Meteorological Office says hot weather in Malta is not a heatwave and temperatures are expected to decrease

Weekend temperatures hit highs of 36°C and lows of 32°C, but unlike the rest of Europe, it was not a heatwave, the Meteorological Office at MIA said.

The temperature on Monday will hit a high of 35°C as Malta basks in sunshine and no wind.

“We are expecting a maximum temperature of 35°C today and 33°C tomorrow. However, these temperatures do not qualify as a heatwave," a spokesperson for the Met Office told MaltaToday.

7-day weather forecast for Malta (Source: MIA)
7-day weather forecast for Malta (Source: MIA)

A heatwave is defined as having the mean maximum temperature of the month exceeded by 5°C for three or more consecutive days. The climatic mean for the month of August is 31.7°C.

Over the weekend much of Europe experienced a mini heatwave, with the UK experiencing temperatures in the mid-30s. The UK's Met Office said that Friday was the hottest day of 2020 and third-hottest on record for the country.

Temperatures in Malta are, however, expected to go down slightly on Tuesday, with highs of 33°C, that feel 35°C with north-westerly winds ranging between force 5 and 6.

“From Tuesday temperatures are expected to be cooler with higher wind speeds. On Wednesday and Friday, in fact, the maximum temperature is expected to reach 30°C, while on Thursday it is expected to reach 29°C. The UV index will be 10 until Wednesday, dropping to nine on Thursday,” the Met Office said. 

Winds speeds are also expected to up from Tuesday afternoon between force five and six, and will continue throughout Wednesday. Wind speed will then decrease to force four to five on Thursday.

The Met Office also said it was predicting the possibility of some rain showers from Thursday till Saturday.

Sunday however will see the weather stabilise with sunny skies and highs of 32°C that feel 34°C with virtually no winds.