In a number of satellite photos and additional forecasts shared on Facebook, “a blast of hot air from Northern Africa” can be seen heading straight to Malta.

The deep red cloud has dominated satellite imagery all week, but now, the Maltese Islands have found themselves smack-dab in the middle of what Facebook forecasters Malta Weather aptly described as “another scorcher”.

Meanwhile, imagery shared from Copernicus EU clearly shows the approaching heatwave and how it’s expected to not only hit our tiny Mediterranean islands, but also keep travelling north.

“This heatwave will also push Saharan dust all the way up into the Eastern Alpine region, the Balkan peninsula, Eastern Europe and as far north as Scandinavia,” one analysis predicted on Facebook.

Meanwhile, extreme weather continues to dominate the world, with flash floods in Germany, forest fires in the US and heavy downpours in China.

“Malta has been going through a difficult time in terms of climate change with the lack of rain and extreme heat we’ve had over the past few weeks,” the Director of Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development at the University of Malta, Professor Maria Attard, told Lovin Malta.

“These are all events linked to climate change,” Attard said. “These forecasted events are actually happening at a much faster rate and with a greater impact and effect than initially predicted”.

What do you make of this? Let us know in the comments and tag someone who can’t wait for winter!