Hottest day of the year so far

Music fans left disappointed by the postponement of last night's Joseph Calleja concert due to strong winds may take cold comfort in the knowledge that yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far.

Temperatures reached 38˚C according to the Meteorological Office, but conditions were made bearable by the wind and relatively low humidity of under 30 per cent during the hottest hours.

A Met Office spokesman said the scorching temperatures were caused by a ridge of high pressure covering the central Mediterranean and warm air settling between 3,000 and 5,000 metres above sea level.

Although thermometers were working overtime yesterday, the mercury still has a fair way to rise to reach the hottest ever July temperature recorded in Malta, which was 42.7˚C in 1988. On the corresponding Saturday in July last year the temperature reached 41.6˚C.

The highest ever temperature recorded in Malta was 43.8˚C in August 1999.

Locally, temperatures should return to normal today with highs of around 32˚C. The Met Office said humidity should remain relatively low for the next few days.

Despite falling short of record highs yesterday locally, the world is currently enduring the hottest year ever on record. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington reported that this year has had the warmest average temperature for the January-June period ever recorded at 12.2°C.

A heatwave across central and northern Europe earlier this month started forest fires, caused crops to wither and roads to melt, and led to the rare sight of women in bikinis sunbathing in Moscow's Kolomenskoye park.