With Malta’s chilly weather making our islands feel colder than the likes of Iceland and Amsterdam yesterday, this weekend might not be the best time to jump into the Mediterranean. But in case you were still considering a cheeky swim, we’ve got one more deterrent waiting for you.

Thousands of jellyfish have been spotted washing up around Malta, particularly Gozo. Yesterday, Instagram user tamsincauchi uploaded a photo of thousands of jellyfish just casually floating around in Marsalforn, cheekily asking her friends and followers if anyone fancied a swim.

Short answer: no thanks.

Yesterday, strong northwesterly winds of Force 5 and 6 made for consistently rough seas. With today promising to be more of the same with isolated rainfall, potential hail showers, and even thundery and gusty showers overnight, the sea is set to be rough for yet another day.

Beyond our shores, freezing temperatures have often led to jellyfish invasions in the following warm seasons

Last year, Britain’s “Beast from the East” had heralded a jellyfish invasion following the UK’s cold snap. “With such intense winter conditions, it’s likely an extreme summer could follow,” National Sea Life Centre Birmingham curator Johnny Rudd had said last March.

Of course, Malta is no stranger to both hot summers and jellyfish invasions, so while summer 2019 will mostly likely be as hot as it is jellyfish-infested, it would be interesting to see whether this current particularly cold snap ends up ushering in a higher influx of jellies come May and June.gip

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David Grech Urpani

Lovin Malta's Head of Content, Dave has been in journalism for the better half of the last decade. Prefers Instagram, but has been known to doomscroll on TikTok. Loves chicken, women's clothes and Kanye West (most of the time).