Summer-like temperatures to continue tomorrow and start of next week
Temperatures will dip slightly over the election weekend
Updated 5.27pm with Met Office comments
Peak temperatures are expected to remain at 31 degrees Celsius on Friday and at similar levels through the start of next week as Malta continues to heat up for summer, albeit with a slight dip over the election weekend.
The temperature peaked at 31°C today and is forecast to remain the same tomorrow, while hovering between the same temperature and 30°C from Monday to Wednesday next week.
The election weekend is expected to see a slight respite, however, with temperatures falling to 28°C on voting day before rising to 29°C on counting day, according to the Meteorological Office at Malta International Airport.
The seven-day low temperature is expected to be 19°C.
Screenshot: Met Office.The UV index, measuring the level of ultraviolet radiation, is forecast to remain at nine (“very high”) over the next seven days.
Winds are expected to reach Force 4.
The Met Office attributed the summer-like temperatures to an extensive high-pressure system covering Europe and the Mediterranean for the past several days.
That system was "the catalyst for the gradual increase in the temperature in these regions", it said.
While the weather may be heating up locally, Malta has been spared the higher temperatures seen elsewhere around Europe in recent days, as a “heat dome” has seen parts of the UK hit 35°C and France expecting peaks of 39°C.
The Met Office noted that the conditions seen locally were connected, however, explaining that Malta's temperature increase was caused by the same anticyclone responsible for the heatwave seen elsewhere in parts of Europe.
The hottest May on record for Malta reached 35.3°C in 2006, while the mean maximum May temperature is 24.3°C.
June's maximum mean temperature is 28.8°C, the Met Office noted.
The recent sunny weather comes as the country gears up for the summer season, which begins on June 21, and follows a stormy start to the year.
Temperatures have been steadily climbing from around 22°C throughout the second half of this month, according to popular weather website AccuWeather.