October was the driest in a decade, with only a quarter of the amount of rain falling as temperatures were often higher than the norm, according to the Meteorological Office that is forecasting rain and strong winds for the weekend.
Total precipitation amounted to 18.4mm of rain, significantly less than the 77.6mm expected at this time of the year.
The month’s mean temperature was equal to the norm of 21.7˚C. However, 17 days had maximum temperatures which were higher than the climate norm.
The month’s highest temperature peaked at 28.6˚C on October 26, surpassing the maximum temperature norm of 25˚C by 3.6˚C, the Met Office said.
“This warm and dry weather was caused by a persisting ridge of high pressure, which has covered the Maltese islands and most of the Mediterranean Sea, for the past weeks,” it added.
The warmer-than-average temperatures follow a similar pattern to previous months.
September was warmer than average, with the month’s mean maximum temperature of 29.5°C exceeding the norm by 0.9°C.
Unlike October, September was, however, slightly windier and wetter than usual, with 59.8mm of precipitation measured in Luqa. This was slightly above the 1991 to 2020 climate norm of 59.2mm in September.
Hottest summer
The summer months of June, July and August recorded maximum air temperatures that were over 7°C higher than their respective monthly norms.
Having averaged 27.9°C, the air temperature for summer was 1.7°C higher than the seasonal climate norm, the Met Office reported.
This summer was the hottest in Europe’s recorded history, with the continent suffering blistering heatwaves and the worst drought in centuries.
Looking forward, the Met Office said the first few days of November are expected to remain pleasant, with sunny or partly cloudy skies accompanied by a maximum temperature of 24°C/25°C.
However, the Met Office is expecting a shift in weather conditions from November 5, with isolated showers and very strong winds (northwest force 5 becoming west-northwest force 7) being forecast for the day.