The month of April brought with it a variety of weather conditions, with temperatures fluctuating throughout the month, the Met Office said in a statement.
While the first day of the month is typically associated with joking around, the temperatures on the day was no laughing matter, as the mercury soared up to 29.4°C. This temperature fell just 1.3°C shy of reaching the 30.7°C record set in April 1950.
The first days of April gifted the islands with a taste of summer, boasting sunny days and high temperatures. The same cannot be said for the second half of the month, particularly towards the last week of April which was characterised by unstable weather, winds and mild temperatures. In fact, the lowest temperature was measured towards the end of the month, when the mercury dropped to 9.2°C, on April 2.
As a low-pressure system settled over the islands, the weather became increasingly windy and unstable. In fact, a significant portion (9.4mm) of the month's total precipitation fell in just a few hours on April 24th. However, similar to the preceding months, April 2024 was drier than the climatic norm. With only 13.2mm of rainfall being received, the month fell 5.5 mm short of reaching the monthly norm.
On April 16, clouds and sand particles covered the skies, ultimately resulting in blood rain. Due to dense cloud cover, less than one hour of sunshine was recorded on this day; the gloomiest of the month.
Strong winds blowing from a north-westerly direction struck the Maltese Islands between the 17th and 19th of April, swiftly clearing the air from sand particles and improving visibility. April was in fact windier than the norm, with the average wind speed reaching 11.3 knots. The windiest day was April 19th, when the strongest gust measured reached 49 knots, blowing from the north-west by west.
Beachgoers will also be glad to hear that the sea temperature seems to be warming up, as April’s average sea surface temperature stood at 17.5°C; a notable 1.2°C warmer than the climatic norm.