Strong Westerly Winds Batter Malta As Data Reveals Uneven Impact Across Island

Malta has been battered by strong westerly winds from Monday afternoon all the way through Tuesday morning, with data from the Department of Geosciences at the University of Malta headed by Prof. Adam Gauci, showing how uneven the impact has been across the island.

The strongest gusts were recorded at exposed locations, with Qammieħ reaching 27.5 m/s (around 99 km/h) and Ċirkewwa peaking at 23.3 m/s (84 km/h). Even more sheltered areas like Msida experienced gusts of up to 16.3 m/s (59 km/h). Winds remained largely from the west throughout.

Off the coast of Valletta, the BLUE buoy, positioned about 4.6 kilometres outside the Grand Harbour, registered a highest individual wave of 3.68 metres.

While considerable, this is far lower than the 13.11-metre wave recorded during Storm Harry in January.

Experts note that since wave data is measured from a single buoy on the east coast, severe conditions along the west and northwest shores during westerly winds may not be fully captured.

Meanwhile, a sea-level sensor at Portomaso recorded a 70-centimetre variation since the start of 2026, highlighting the role of atmospheric pressure in coastal impacts.

The Department is also expanding air-quality monitoring, with current readings remaining within acceptable levels.

#MaltaDaily