With an average temperature of 20.2°C, October days were 0.5°C cooler than the recorded average of the climate norm, the Meteorological Office said.

It said the mean maximum temperature last month was 23.4°C, 0.8°C lower than the mean maximum. This trend was similar to October last year.

The warmest days last month were registered on the 1st and 7th and had a maximum temperature of 26.6°C.

The lowest temperature was 11.8°C on October 20. The coolest October night was on October 30, 1978, when the temperature fell to 8°C.

The lowest grass-height temperature last month was 9.3°C recorded on the 20th.

The average sea surface temperature was 23.5°C, 0.6°C higher than the average value for October since 1978.

The wind speed, averaging 7.7 knots was slightly higher than expected for a typical October. For 70 per cent of the time it was in the light speed bracket (1-10 knots). The west northwest was the most frequent direction. On October 23 the maximum gust reached 39 knots from the west by north.

The monthly average humidity reached 75 per cent, which is lower than the 30-year mean.

There were three days with thunderstorms (on the 1st, 2nd and 11th), three days less than average.

The stormiest October was in 1962 with 12 thunderstorm days.

Throughout October a total precipitation of 61.2 mm was registered at Luqa airport, below the October climate norm by 28.8 mm. The highest amount of rainfall ever recorded at Luqa airport in October was in 1951 with a record total of 476.5mm.

Last month there was an average of seven hours and 54 minutes of sunshine per day, which is slightly higher than the climate norm.