Warmer than average May

May was 1.5 degrees celcius warmer than the 30-year climatological average collected by the Meteorological Office of the Malta international Airport.

In its newsletter, the Met Office said that after May 14, the mean air temperature shot up to reach a maximum of 7 degrees celcius above the norm on May 25.

Contrary to what was being expected, the relative humidity remained relatively low, resulting in high air temperatures between May 18 and 26.

The warmest day last month was the 26th, when the thermometer at the Malta‟s official sites reached 32.2°C. The warmest May days ever recorded were in 2006 when 35.3°C was reached on the 23rd.

The coolest May days on record were the 12th in 1925 and the 10th in 1931, when a maximum temperature of 15°C was recorded.

The lowest temperature last month was 11.2°C, recorded late in the night on the 8th. The coolest May night since 1923 was the 4th in 1970 with a low of 8°C.

The wind speed in May, averaging 11.7 km per hour, was 2.5 knots lower than the average speed for May since 1947.

The average sea surface temperature was 19.1°C, 1.6 degrees warmer than the average value for May since 1978.

May was sunnier than the 30-year climatological norm for May with an average of 11 hours and 10 minutes of sunshine a day, a total of 1.5 hours more sunshine than an average May.

The brightest day was the 12th with 13 hours, the dullest the 14th with 4 hours and 12 minutes.

There were thunderstorms on the 15th and hail on the 4th.