Malta is set to swelter under another heatwave in the coming days, with temperatures feeling as high as 40 degrees Celsius. 

According to forecasts from the Malta International Airport weather station, temperatures on Saturday will reach 34 degrees, feeling like 37 degrees, and will continue to rise to a peak on Tuesday and Wednesday of 37 degrees, feeling like 40, before starting to drop off. 

There may not be much respite provided by the wind either: breezes of up to Force 4 on the weekend are forecast to drop off to between Force 2 and Force 3 as the weather heats up further in mid-week.

The UV index is forecast to be as high as 11. 

In such conditions, health authorities typically advise the public to stay out of the sun in the hottest times of the day, and to stay cool and hydrated to avoid the risk of heat exhaustion or heatstroke. 

Extra care should be taken with children and elderly people, who are at the highest risk of suffering negative effects of the heat and sun exposure. 

Europe sweats it out

The expected spike in temperatures is not the first one of the summer: June saw two such heatwaves, with temperatures rising to 38 degrees over several days. 

The early weeks of summer have been marked by extreme heat all across Europe, with all-time temperature records broken in Germany, Poland, Czechia and France, where the mercury topped out at a searing 45.9 degrees in Gallargues-le-Montueux, in the south-east.