Weird Weather: April Brought Abnormal Amounts Of Rain, Wind, Cool And Shine To The Maltese Islands
Malta International Airport’s Meteorological Office announced that last month, we experienced 28.6mm of rainfall – which exceeds April norms by over a third – about 9.9mm of rain.
If April felt wetter to you than most do, you would be right. Interestingly, though, you’d also have been right if April felt sunnier to you than it normally does.
Last month was something of a meteorological anomaly.
Despite the Maltese islands being showered with more rain than is usual for that time of year, we also clocked just over 270 hours of sunshine throughout the month, which is also higher than April averages.
Although we had an increased exposure to the blazing space sphere’s rays, MIAMO reported that April was a cooler and windier month than the norm – with an average temperature of 16°C and average windspeed of 10.1 knots.
While air temperatures were cooler than expected, the mean sea surface temperature was 0.4°C higher than usual – higher than the average air temperatures at 16.3°C.
Did April feel sunnier, rainier, windier and cooler to you than it normally does?
Trying to extrapolate climate conclusions based on weather is risky business – but meteorologists do know that the ever worsening effects of the climate crisis lead to an increased likelihood of experiencing more extreme weather patterns.
These include an overall warming of our seas and oceans – which can have other consequences.
The first Maltese Meteorological Office opened in 1922, and another was opened after WWII at Luqa Airfield in 1946.
By 1979, the Met Office’s proximity to and necessity within civil aviation activities made it necessary for the service to be passed to the Department of Civil Aviation – which would then merge the service with MIA in 1998.
A Maltese meteorologist predicted that this year’s summer would be cooler than most in recent years have been – as a result of the Pacific Ocean originating El Niño weather fluctuation.
It is possible that 2023’s meteorologically strange April could be linked to this fluctuation.
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