Malta will be hit by a three-day spring heatwave this week with temperatures predicted to soar as high as 31°C and desert winds expected to make it feel even hotter.

Temperatures are expected to hit 31°C on Thursday and Friday, 30°C on Saturday and 29°C on Sunday but it will feel at least a degree hotter.

A Met Office forecaster told Times of Malta that the mini-heatwave will be caused by an area of high pressure in the eastern Mediterranean and an area of low pressure in the western Mediterranean.

“This will give rise to southeasterly winds, which will create the ideal conditions for hot air to extend from the Sahara desert towards the central Mediterranean,” the spokesperson said.

Meteorologist Andrea Muscat, who runs The Maltese Islands Weather Page on Facebook, believes the weather conditions could cause temperatures to rise even higher than those predicted.

“This wind, which will also be strong at times, will drag with it a plume of very hot air,” Muscat said.

“Values of up to 35°C are possible, especially on Friday, if the centre of the plume of hot air passes directly above the Maltese islands.”

A heatwave is defined locally as a period of three or more consecutive days with a maximum temperature 5°C or higher than the mean maximum temperature for that particular time of year. The monthly mean maximum temperature for May in Malta is 24.1°C.

The hottest day in May on record was registered in 2006, at 35.3°C, and was followed by Europe-wide heat waves at various points in the summer of that year.

Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci was asked about the impact of warmer weather on COVID-19 when she delivered her daily update on the number of cases in Malta.

“There is a lot of research looking into whether heat or humidity affects this virus,” she said.

“There are various schools of thought. Some say heat will slow down the spread while others say it won’t have an impact.”