The average air temperature over Malta has risen by 1.1 degrees Celsius since 1951, according to a  Climate in Malta report issued by the National Statistics office today.

Officials said that most of the increase occurred since 1995. (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change established that globally temperatures rose by 1.4C between 1956 and 2005).

Dr Charles Galdies, a Meteorological officer, said the temperature rise validated the arguments made about climate change.

The report also shows a slight increase in atmospheric pressure leading to calmer and fairer weather.

There were no statistically significant changes in rainfall over the past 60 years.

Although there was a tendency for less cloud cover, this was not statistically significant.

The detailed report, a first for Malta, also compares climate data to socio-economic indicators.

It was found, for example, that fairer weather in 2005, may have contributed to a record fruit produce in 2006.

Temperature also has a bearing on mortality and infectious diseases. For example, it was found (through a study by Gatt and Calleja 2010) that there was one case rise in Salmonella infection per two degrees rise in minimum air temperature.

"The sustained positive trend of the annual minimum air temperature seen during the past years suggests a future scenario where Salmonellosis cases in the local population may increase," the report says.

"During the period 1990-2008 the authors identified two peaks of increased cases of local Salmonella outbreaks, namely 1999 and 2008 wth a seasonal pattern which is clearly related to the hotter months of the year."

Similarly, between 1995 and 2009, fish landings increased, possibly due to improved weather conditions.

Michael Pace Ross, Director of the NSO, said this report may also serve as a template for data collation within Eurostat, the European statistical arm.

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