Weather forecast: Three degrees above the average

The mercury is expected to climb to 34˚C tomorrow, three degrees higher than the average for this time of the year.

Mario Abdilla, duty forecaster at the Malta International Airport's Meteorological Office, said the average highest temperature for the first 10 days of July in the last 30 years stood at 31˚C.

According to the five-day forecast on the Met Office's website, the temperature will drop slightly on Saturday and Sunday, before climbing by one degree on Monday.

And the health authorities are urging people to drink a lot of water and seek the shade in a bid to counteract the heat. Charmaine Gauci, the head of the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Department, also recommended wearing light clothing and using sun protection when going out between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The Met Office has urged people to seek shade between those five hours because the ultra violet rays have started to reach "dangerous levels". Yesterday, the UV was at the highest level of 11+ and, although it is expected to go down to 10 today, it is forecast to creep up again tomorrow.

The temperature experienced a significant peak over the last two weeks, ending the month at 33˚C, the Met Office said in its monthly climatology report. And, yet, this temperature - which was also reached last Thursday - was quite a few degrees lower than the 40.1˚C recorded on June 13, 1997 - the warmest day in June since 1923.

On the other hand, the coolest temperature recorded last month - 15.8˚C on June 6 - was a few degrees higher than the coolest June night in 1975, when the night temperature dropped to 12.6˚C on June 7.

Although last month's mean temperature of 23.9˚C was half a degree more than normal, the Met Office said June's weather was well within the norm for this time of the year.

At 22.1˚C, the average sea surface temperature last month was just over one degree above June's average for the last 30 years.

The warmest June was that of 2003 with a mean temperature of 26.1˚C and the coolest one was in 1993 with a mean temperature of 20.9˚C.

Last month had an average of 11 hours and 36 minutes of sunshine, which the Met Office said was normal for this time of the year. Even the wind speed, at an average of 7.4 knots, was within the expected range.

However, the total rainfall of 1.4 millimetres was less than half the 3.2 millimetres that is normal for this time of the year. The highest amount of rainfall - 76.30 millimetres - was recorded in June last year.