Temperature to rise to 37°C during Santa Marija weekend

The Meteorological Office has issued a weather warning ahead of Santa Marija celebrations, as temperatures are expected to rise to 37°C on Friday.

The public is advised to protect themselves from high temperatures in the coming days which are synonymous with festivities and travel between the Maltese islands.

Sunny skies are forecast for 15 August, with temperatures expected to peak at 35°C and drop to a low of 25°C. The following day, the temperature is expected to reach 37°C.

No rain is forecast over the weekend despite the presence of high clouds.

The MET Office also announced that a lack of rain has continued to persist throughout July, as temperatures during that month were higher than average. The MET Office noted that the average temperature recorded in July was 28.5°C, which marks a 1.6°C rise over the monthly norm.

“Despite the intense heat and abundant sunshine that characterised the month, there were no heatwaves recorded in July. This was not the case last year, when a 10-day heatwave confirmed July 2023 as the hottest July on the Meteorological Office’s records.”

The hottest day of last month was 21 July, with a temperature of 37.9°C. “The record high for July remains 42.7°C, reached for the first time in 1988 and again last year. The lowest temperature of the month was 20.2°C, recorded on the 6th of July.”

With regards to sunlight, last July also saw higher-than-average time in the sunshine with 384 hours, representing a 15-hour increase from the norm.

The sea was also warmer than usual, with the average sea surface temperature reaching 26.9°C; nearly 2°C above the norm.