At around 2am last night, Malta experienced a rare phenomenon called a heat burst, were temperatures shot up by 6.1°C from 20.6°C to 26.7°C  in the span of just 20 minutes.

Levels of relative humidity also experienced a dramatic change, from 80% to an extremely dry 37%, whilst the winds went reached 40.2 km an hour (Force 6) in a matter of a few minutes.

What are heat bursts?

Heat bursts are natural phenomenons characterised by strong winds, intense temperature changes and sharp drop in humidity. They tend to occur at this time of year and during the night. They can last between a few minutes to a few hours.

Did you feel hot today? Well, it’s only getting hotter

Meanwhile, today was one of the hottest days of the year so far. The air temperature peaked at 34°C across parts of the islands, as the first day of a four day heat wave commenced.