June was one of the 10 warmest on record

The mean temperature in June put the month in the top 10 warmest Junes since 1922, when records started being kept, the Met Office said yesterday.

Last month was also the wettest June on record and also produced the warmest June night in 30 years.

The office said last month's mean temperature of 24.8°C was 1.6°C warmer than the average. The warmest June was that of 2003 with a mean temperature of 26.1°C. On the other hand, the coolest June months experienced since 1922 were in 1933 and 1967 with a mean of 20.9°C.

The average high last month was 29.4°C, which was more or less the same as that of last year, the Met Office said. However, last year there were nine days in a row when the daily highest temperature rose above 35°C, the closest one could get to a "heat wave", while this year there were five such days, between June 21 and 26.

Monday, June 25 was the warmest at 39.5°C. Only two other Junes had hotter days - that of June 13, 1997 when a high of 40.1°C and June 30, 1998, when 39.7°C was reached.

This year's June nights, with an average temperature of 20.3°C, were warmer, by 1.3°C, than the norm. The warmest night was the 25th/26th when, at dawn, the mercury reached its lowest point at 23.8°C. That was also the warmest June night of the past 30 year period.

The coolest night last month was that of the 13th/14th with a minimum temperature of 14°C. The coolest June temperature on record was that of the 7th of the month in 1975 when a low of 12.6°C was reached.

Last month was the wettest June in the 85 year history of the Meteorological Office. There were two episodes of heavy rainfall - June 3 when between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m., 11.2mm of rainfall were measured at the airport and June 4 when 63.4mm were recorded. The rainfall on June 4 was localised. In Gozo precipitation on that day was of the order of a few drops, contrasting heavily with certain other localities in Malta.

Thunder was heard on one day, June 4, and fog was observed at the airport on one occasion, the 23rd.

With an average speed of 5.9 knots (6.8 mph or 10.9 km per hour) the wind at Malta International Airport last month was, generally speaking, rather sluggish.

Last month was as sunny as average Junes go, that is 11 hours and 10 minutes of bright sunshine a day.

The Meteorological Office of Malta International Airport, Malta's national meteorological service, is the provider of weather services to the community. It has records dating from 1947 at the airport and since 1922 for records from Pieta and Valletta.

www.maltairport.com/weather