Third hottest July on record
July 2012 was another hot and dry month. The mean monthly maximum temperature of 32.7°C was 1.2°C above average while the mean monthly minimum temperature of 24.4°C was 1.5°C above average. The mean monthly temperature of 28.6° was 1.4°C above average. This also means that July 2012 was the third hottest July on record. The hottest July since 1987 was that of 2003 with a mean temperature of 29.3°C while the second hottest was in 1998 with a mean temperature of 29.0°C. The coolest was in 1992 with a mean temperature of 25.4°C.
The hottest day in July 2012 was on the 12th with a maximum of 40.2°C. The hottest July day ever recorded was of 43.1°C in 1988. The lowest night-time temperature in July 2012 was of 21.9°C on the 24th. The temperature dropped to a chilly 17.4°C on 1st July 1992, the coolest July night on record.
No rain was recorded in July 2012 as was expected. However, a few locations got a few drops of rain on the 23rd.
The northwest was the most frequent wind direction with an average wind speed at Zebbug Malta of 7.0km/h. The strongest gust was of 42.6km/h recorded on the 12th at Zebbug from a westerly direction.
The mean monthly sea-level pressure was 1013.4hPa, with the highest of 1017.7hPa occurring on the 17th and the lowest of 1006.7hPa occurring on the 23rd during the rare July formation of a Mediterranean cyclone over the Tyrrhenian Sea.