14
EYEWITNESS
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 OCTOBER 2022
MALTA'S climate is becoming
increasingly warmer, drier and
more prone to weather extremes
according to a new State of the
Climate publication analysing
Malta's climatic changes.
The study, published by the
National Statistics Office in col-
laboration with Prof. Charles
Galdies from the University of
Malta, covers changes record-
ed from 1952 to 2020 and takes
a look at weather phenomena
like sunshine, cloud cover, and
air temperature among others.
Overall, air and sea temper-
atures have gotten hotter over
the years, rainfall has decreased
considerably, while thunder-
storms have become more
common.
According to the results, Mal-
ta's average maximum air tem-
perature increased by 1.5°C
since 1952, while the average
minimum increased by 1.4°C.
The highest increase in air
temperature was recorded
among the average lowest min-
imum air temperature, regis-
tering a jump of 1.7°C across
almost seven decades.
Meanwhile, the average high-
est maximum air temperature
increased by 1.2°C.
On sea, the average temper-
ature increased by 1.9°C from
1978 to 2020. The highest aver-
age sea temperature increased
by a whopping 2.2°C.
Warmer
and drier
