‘Pleasant, With Good Visibility’: Malta’s Met Office Shares Historic Weather Report From 100 Years Ago
Malta’s meteorological office has just celebrated its 100 years of operation, sharing a photo of the historic report from the very first day.
“Today 100 years ago the weather was pleasant, with a 68% humidity, good visibility and a light wind blowing from the West-Northwest, together with an air temperature of 27.3°C recorded at around 7am,” the Met office said in a social media post.
“This date is particularly significant to us as it marks the start of observation and forecasting services in Malta by the Meteorological Office.”
During the past 100 years, the Meteorological Office has operated from four different locations, with the first move seeing it transfer its operation from Pietà to Saint John’s Cavalier in Valletta, where forecasting was conducted underground during the war.
The second move happened in 1946, bringing the weather services provider closer to the island’s Flight Information Centre and air traffic control services at Luqa airport, allowing it to focus on the provision of weather-related services to the then-flourishing civil aviation industry.
The Meteorological Office has been operating from its fourth location on the Malta International Airport campus since 2002, providing its services to different industries, as well as the general public through the airport website.
The team is composed of forecasters, observers and two administrators, one of whom manages the office’s archival records; a trove of hand-plotted synoptic charts, which formed the basis of weather forecasts prior to the advent of technology, and daily weather observations.
Do you regularly make use of Malta’s met office?
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