January was 1.2°C warmer than the norm: MET Office

January was 1.2 °C warmer than the monthly norm, registering an average temperature of 14.1°C, the MET Office said.

On the 18th January, the highest temperature for the month soared to 24.5°C. Yet, the record for the highest temperature recorded by the Meteorological Office in the first month of the year remains that of 25.8°C, reached in January 2021.

23 January became the coldest day of the month when the air temperature dipped to 6.7°C. While this temperature is significantly cooler than the norm, January 1981 still holds the record for the lowest temperature ever measured during the month, as the mercury plummeted to 1.4°C.

Last month was also brighter than usual, exceeding the climatic norm by 11.5 hours to register 181 hours of sunshine. Despite the fact that the average January day saw 5.8 hours of sunshine, less than one hour of sunshine was recorded (0.9) on 11 January, the month’s gloomiest day.

At 9.0 knots, the average wind strength was in line with the monthly norm of 8.9 knots. The sixth and seventh days of January were the windiest, as gusts reaching 47 knots were measured across both days.

During the past month, only 37.3mm of precipitation was measured, falling 42.1mm short of the climatic norm. The same month saw the Meteorological Office report thunderstorms across the Maltese islands on two days in January, and only one occurrence of precipitation with hail.

Carnival forecast

Fine and relatively warm weather is expected to usher in Carnival 2024 on Friday. However, the weather is expected to become unstable and blustery in the following days, with thundery showers forecast for Sunday.

The wind is expected to increase between Friday and Saturday and remain rather strong to strong, varying between Force 5 and 6, for the remaining days.

On Sunday, gusty winds and thundery showers is expected, which will result in a slight drop in temperature. The maximum temperature during the day will peak at 17°C, while the night-time temperature will drop to 11°C.

Windy weather and isolated showers are also forecast for the last two days of Carnival on Monday and Tuesday.