Malta experienced its third-driest year on record last year, with all months in 2024 being drier than the climatic norm, the Malta Meteorological Office said on Friday. 

July was the driest month, with November recording the most rainfall. The highest temperature reached was 37.9°C in July. 

Records show that every single month in 2024 experienced below-average rainfall, with only 285.3mm of rain falling between January to December 2024. 

This is 260mm less than the 30-year average. The only years drier than 2024 were 1947 (228.4 mm) and 1961 (274.2 mm).

November provided some much-needed relief to farmers, recording the highest amount of rainfall of the year, despite the total still falling slightly below the climatic norm. However, this was not enough for autumn to compensate for the summer drought, as the preceding month saw only 4.2 mm of rainfall, a staggering 73.6 mm below October’s monthly quota.

Above-average temperatures remained a constant throughout the year, with the only exception being December when the average temperature matched the climatic norm.

The country experienced two heatwaves last year, the first relatively early in mid-May and second in mid-June. 

The Meteorological Office issued multiple warnings during the summer months due to extreme temperatures. August was the hottest month of 2024, with an average temperature of 29.1°C, while January was the coldest, with an average temperature of 14.1°C.

Several days were also marked by strong winds, with the most frequent wind directions being from the West, West-Northwest, and West-Southwest. April was among the windiest months, with five days of gale-force winds recorded.