The average sea temperature around Malta last month was almost a degree higher than the norm, data issued by the Meteorological Office on Thursday showed.

The air temperature went from a minimum of 20.2˚C at the beginning of the month to a high of 35.7˚C.

The average sea temperature for the month was a full 0.9˚C higher than the norm of 24.7˚C.

A total of 19 July days registered a maximum air temperature that exceeded the climate norm of 31.6˚C.

But, last month’s maximum temperature came nowhere near close to the highest July temperature on record, registered back in 1988 when the mercury shot up to a blistering 42.7˚C.

During the month, Malta basked in 363.6 hours of sunshine and enjoyed generally clear skies.The mean cloud cover for July was 0.8 oktas, which was slightly lower than the norm.

July 28 was exceptionally bright, clocking up 13.9 hours of sunshine.

July 23 had just 6.4 hours of sunshine, making it last month’s dullest day. Moreover, the day accounted for the month’s maximum gust of 32 knots, which blew from a north-west by north direction.

Overall, July was windier than the climate norm, with the wind speed averaging at 7.5 knots rather than 6.8 knots. In the first week of the month, fog was reported on three separate days. Dew, which amounted to 0.6 mm, was also measured on three July days.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.