Last year was characterised by weather which was both warmer and drier than the climatic norm, the Meteorological Office said on Tuesday.

It said that it measured 3,020 hours of sunshine, with seven months being brighter than the norm.

Temperatures surpassing the monthly average were observed through most of the year with July being the warmest month since 1922, as the average temperature reached 29.6°C. At the peak of a relentless heatwave that spanned 10 days, the mercury soared to 42.7°C that month.

December had an average temperature of 15.9°C, exceeding the climatic norm by 1.4 °C.

As the coldest month of 2023, February was the only month whose average temperature dropped below the climatic norm. The 18th day of the month marked the coolest day of the year, recording a temperature drop to 5.3°C.

The remaining months had warmer temperatures, although May and June stood out as exceptions with temperatures closely aligning with climatic norms.

Rainfall was higher than the annual average

The Met Office said the Maltese Islands received 554.8 mm of rain, which was higher than the annual average. Almost one-third of the rainfall was recorded in February 2023 when storm Helios hit the islands, making it one of the wettest on record.

In contrast, March was much drier than usual, with only 3 mm of rain measured, which was 36.7 mm less than the monthly average. Despite April and May being wetter than usual, they were not enough to make up for the drought experienced in March, resulting in a much drier-than-average spring.

July was the only month to remain completely dry, with no rainfall registered.

After a dry summer, autumn failed to bring seasonable weather to the Maltese islands, the office said. The amount of rain measured between September and October fell short of the monthly quota, with the latter becoming the driest October on the Meteorological Office’s records with a meagre 0.2 mm of rainfall measured, 77.4 mm less than the climatic norm. This also translated into an absence of thunderstorms typically associated with weather transitions in October.

Out of a total of 21 thunderstorms in 2023, seven of them hit the Maltese islands in January.

The wind exceeded the climatic norm in eight months. April and May emerged as the windiest months, boasting an average wind speed of 10.1 knots. The most potent gust occurred on November 25, originating from the northwest and reaching an impressive speed of 53 knots