ENGLISH/INGLIŻ

A cold night lies ahead for the Maltese Islands. This is due to a clear sky and calm wind under anticyclonic conditions. In the cooler months, calm and clear conditions allow heat to be lost from the surface of the Earth to space by radiation. This temperatures to fall steadily. As the stable air near to the ground cools, it can become saturated. Saturation leads to the formation of mist, fog and dew. In fact, dense fog patches may develop across plains and in valleys. For this reason, we urge you to express caution on the road. We’re expecting the air temperature to dip to 5°C / 6°C tonight. Temperatures typically reach the minimum just before dawn, after a night of cooling. Since cold air sinks, and due to the moderating effect of the sea, the coldest spots will be inland low-lying plains and valleys. On a sunny day, soil temperatures are often much warmer than the air temperature, but on clear nights, soil temperatures are normally a few degrees cooler than air temperatures. In fact, the soil temperature tonight may be as low as 1°C to 4°C. The Maltese Islands normally see one or two occasions of ground frost a year in the months of January or February. Tonight could be one of those rare occasions. Ground frost occurs when dew freezes as a result of a low soil temperature. Although not as evident as the frost abroad, even the slightest of frost poses a big headache to farmers, as crops tend to experience burns.

 

MALTI / MALTESE

Jidher li l-Gżejjer Maltin se jesperjenzaw lejl ta’ kesħa fina. Dan minħabba sema ċar u assenza totali ta’ riħ taħt kundizzjonijiet antiċikloniċi. Fix-xhur kesħin, temp ċar u kalm ifisser li l-arja tiksaħ sew. Dan minħabba li l-arja titlef s-sħana lejn l-ispazju bla tfixkil. Hekk kif l-arja tiksaħ, din ma tibqax tiflaħ iżżomm ħafna fwar u l-umdita toqrob l-100%. Umdita għola tinkoraġixxi l-iżvilupp ta’ ċpar u nida. Filfatt, jaf ikollna rqajja ta’ ċpar dens f’inħawi bi pjanuri u fil-widien. Għal din ir-raġuni nitolbukom iżjed kawtela fis-sewqan. Qed nistennew li t-temperatura ta’ l-arja tinżel sa 5°C / 6°C billejl. It-temperatura normalment tilħaq il-minimu tagħha ftit qabel sbieħ il-jum, wara li l-arja tkun ilha lejl titlef is-sħana. Minħabba li l-arja kiesħa żżomm fil-baxx, u l-effett ta’ moderazzjoni li l-baħar għandu fuq l-arja, l-inħawi l-aktar kesħin ikunu dawk fuq pjanuri jew f’widien baxxi lejn iċ-ċentru tal-gżejjer. Matul jum xemxi, it-temperatura tal-ħamrija tkun ferm ogħla minn dik ta’ l-arja. Bil-kontra, matul lejl ċar, it-temperatura tal-ħamrija ssoltu tkun ftit gradi aktar kiesħa minn dik ta’ l-arja. Filfatt, it-temperatura tal-ħamrija llejla taf tinżel bejn 1°C u 4°C. F’okkażjonijiet rari, ta’ xi darba jew tnejn fis-sena matul ix-xahrejn ta’ Jannar u Frar, il-Gżejjer Maltin jesperjenzaw dik li nsejjħulha ġlata. Il-lejl li ġej jaf ikun wieħed minn dawn. Il-ġlata tifforma meta n-nida ta’ mal-weraq tiffriża minħabba temperatura tal-ħamrija kiesħa. Għalkemm mhux evidenti daqs il-ġlata ta’ barra, anke ftit biss hija ta’ wġigħ ta’ ras kbira għal-bdiewa, minħabba l-fatt li l-prodott agrikolu jista jinħaraq u jinxef.