An area of fog and mist was rolling over sections of the Maltese Islands this evening, Fog expected overcaused by incoming sea fog from the south-west

Andrea Muscat, administrator of Gozo Weather Page, a local weather page on facebook based in Gozo, explained that in this case, sea fog formed when a warm and moist air mass from the south was advected over a cooler area of sea. The air mass cools and its temperature falls to the dew point (the temperature at which an air mass becomes saturated and the water vapour in it condenses). For this type of fog to form and persist, the wind must be light. A light allows the air mass to slide slowly over the cooler area of sea increasing the chances of saturation and condensation.

Usually, sea fog dissipates as it moves inland. However, given that the air on land is very similar to that of the sea at this time of year, the fog persists over land too.

In the coming hours, the fog is expected to become denser mainly along the coast and in valley areas. It will then clear tomorrow morning.