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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 18 FEBRUARY 2015 News PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD Number of days of hail in Malta on the rise MARTINA BORG PERHAPS it is climate change, per- haps just a freak. Whatever it is, a trend may be in the offing which will see more days with showers of hail in winter. Given the recent prevalence of rainy showers with a fair share of hail, and subsequent images of tiny little snowmen and fields blanketed in white snow pellets, it is natural to wonder whether this kind of weather is normal for a country known for its moderate winters and sweltering summers. According to data collected by the Climate Research Group (CRG) of the Department of Physics at the University of Malta using different data sources, the number of hail days per year has been slowly rising since winter 1985/86, with most recent years having the highest values in the last 30 years. The Malta International Airport Meteorological Office also con- firmed this trend, adding that the years with the highest number of days with hail ever recorded in Malta were 2005/6 and 2013/14 with 15 days of hail each. Winter this year has also been characterised by exceptionally cold days and nights, with temperatures falling as low as 2.1oC on January 1, according to the Met Office. "The lowest minimum tempera- ture has been slightly rising since 1985, but due to the 2.1oC extreme, this winter has a lower minimum temperature compared to previous years," the Met Office pointed out. Temperatures prior to 1985 have, however, fallen lower than this year's 2.1oC, with a record 1.4oC in Janu- ary 1981, according to the CRG. Asked to give possible reasons for these meteorological changes Malta is seeing, both groups pointed to climate change. The Met Office ex- plained that the rise in the average global temperatures are leading to more energy being released into the atmosphere, and consequently, more extreme weather conditions mani- festing themselves around the globe. "Weather phenomena like extreme heat waves, lengthy droughts, intense storms, blizzards and colder weather, now characterize weather reports around the world," said a spokesman for the Met Office. James Ciarlo`, a PhD student at the CRG added that the term global warming is often misinterpreted to mean that the temperatures are in- creasing across the board, but what it actually means is that the aver- age global temperature is rising and this results in more extreme weather conditions. "Malta is no exception, and we have been seeing an overall increase in av- erage annual temperatures since the 1980s. The change in temperatures is very possibly changing the onset of winter and consequently the seasonal cycles of temperatures and precipita- tion," said Dr Noel Aquilina, leader of the Climate Research Group. The Met Office also agreed that Malta was beginning to see climate fluctuations and listed a few exam- ples of how this was happening in practice. "September 2014 was the warmest September since 1924, with an aver- age temperature 1.6oC higher than the norm. October and November were also warmer and drier than usual, with the latter month, when a particularly memorable cyclone hit the country, being characterized by the strongest wind since 1947." The Met Office also added that al- though the average temperature so far this February was 12.5oC, the temperature had often felt lower than that due to stronger northern and north western winds. Graph showing number of days with hail since 1985 provided by the Met Office Independent candidate and beloved folk personality Zaren tal-Ajkla wasn't immune to carnival fever, as the Grand Finale got underway across Floriana's streets yesterday evening. Despite inclement weather for most of the week, colourful floats went through and outside the capital unabated, enjoying the lifting of the ban on political satire - which came into effect last year - with gusto