ENGLISH/INGLIŻ

The peak of the summer heat is at the door. A plume of hot to very hot air will rise from north Africa and expand across the Mediterranean in the coming days, marking the start of this season’s second heatwave. Maximum temperatures will be at or above 37°C from Thursday 29/7 onward. This heat wave will likely last for at least a week. The hottest days will be the ones around the beginning of August. One or two days with a daytime high of 40°C + is highly likely. Minimum temperatures will vary from 26°C to 29°C, meaning nights will offer little to no relief. Yet another jump in sea surface temperatures is also expected. It is projected that sea surface temperatures will rise from 27°C to 29°C by the end of this heat wave. The wind will blow at light to moderate speeds, from a predominantly northwesterly direction. This will help mitigate the intense heat along the coast. The first half of August is statistically the hottest part of summer locally. Since it coincides with the feast of Saint Lawrence, the Maltese refer to this period of intensely hot weather as ‘il-ħruq ta’ San Lawrenz’.

 

MALTI/MALTESE

L-aqwa tas-sajf qiegħed wara l-bieb. Massa ta’ arja sħuna ħafna minn l-Afrika ta’ fuq se testendi lejn il-Gżejjer Maltin fil-jiem li ġejjin, u b’hekk timmarka l-bidu tat-tieni ‘heatwave’ għal dan l-istaġun. It-temperaturi massimi se jkunu ta’ 37°C jew ogħla mill-Ħamis 29/7 ‘il quddiem. Din il-mewġa ta’ sħana se ddum għal minn ta’ l-anqas ġimgħa. L-aktar jiem jaħarqu se jkunu dawk lejn il-bidu ta’ Awwissu. Hemm possibilita’ għolja li jkollna ġurnata jew tnejn b’temperatura ta’ 40°C + matul din il-mewġa ta’ sħana. It-temperaturi minimi se jvarjaw minn 26°C sa 29°C, bl-iljieli joffru ftit li xejn soljev mis-sħana qawwija. Nistennew ukoll qabża oħra fit-temperatura tal-baħar. It-tbassir juri li din għandha titla minn 27°C għal 29°C sa tmiem il-mewġa ta’ sħana. Ir-riħ ikun ħafif għal moderat mill-Majjistral fil-maġġoranza tal-ħin. Din se tgħin biex forsi ttaffi xi ftit is-sħana lejn il-kosta. L-ewwel nofs ta’ Awwissu huwa statistikament l-aktar parti sħunu tas-sajf, u peress li jaħbat mal-festa ta’ San Lawrenz ħafna jafuh bħala ‘l-ħruq ta’ San Lawrenz’.