Rain, strong winds and possible thunderstorms are forecast over the coming week, according to the Met Office, bringing an end to a 118-day period without significant precipitation.

Temperatures are expected to start falling from Saturday as cooler winds and isolated showers move across the Maltese islands.

Maximum temperatures are forecast to drop by between 3C and 4C to around 28C, while minimum temperatures are expected to reach 23C.

Sunday is expected to bring the first rainfall, with isolated showers forecast in the morning becoming potentially thundery later in the day.

Monday and Tuesday are also expected to be windy, with showers forecast throughout the two days. The unsettled weather is then expected to gradually ease, with rain forecast to peter out by Thursday.

The change in weather will mark the first significant precipitation after 118 consecutive days of dry conditions.

The Met Office said on Friday that this was the first summer in six years in which Malta recorded not a single drop of rain.

Malta normally receives an average of 15.6mm of rainfall during the three summer months of June, July and August.