Last month was one of the driest Aprils of the past 84 years, the Meteorological Office said yesterday.

In fact, only 3.6 mm of rainfall was recorded, a good 7.3 mm below average. The wettest April since 1922 was that of 1994 when 118.4 mm of rain drenched the Maltese islands.

However, with a mean temperature of 17.4°C, last month was 0.3 of a degree cooler than the average of the last 30 years.

April of 1998, with a mean temperature of 17.7°C, was the warmest April on record, that is, since the Meteorological Office, now forming part of Malta International Airport plc, began observing weather in 1922. The coolest was that of 1980 with a mean of 13.9°C.

The warmest day last month was the 11th with a high of 28.8°C. The coolest it got was early before dawn on April 1 when the thermometer dropped to 10.3°C. The coolest April night since records began in 1922 was that of the 9th/10th of 1956 when a temperature of 4.4°C was registered.

With a mean wind speed of 8.7 knots, April did not live up to its reputation of being the windiest month of the year this time. Then again, with an average of just under nine hours of bright sunshine a day, last month was one of the cloudiest Aprils on record.