Snow in Malta? A rare photo from the 1940s shows the streets of Sliema covered in snow
The melted ice isn't the only thing that caught our eye.
Malta’s temperate-Mediterranean climate makes snow an extreme rarity – so when it hails, you can’t blame us for getting a little excited that it may, in fact, be snowing.
Yesterday, the islands were coated with a fine layer of hail as temperatures plunged to below 10 degrees Celsius – kicking off what truly feels like the start of this winter season.
But while snow in Malta may be rare, it’s not impossible. At the start of 2019, Europe, including the Med and Malta, experienced temperatures as low as 4 degrees Celsius due to a blast of cold air from Siberia. Snow and sleet sightings were made across the islands, and for a few days, recorded temperatures were actually lower than some Nordic countries.
Way back in the day, Malta also recorded occasional days of snow. A nostalgic photo shared to Facebook by David Axisa shows Sliema of old, circa 1949, with the street covered in melted snow, “one of the 4 recorded instances in 200 years,” he wrote.
The sight of snow decades ago is truly a treat, but not nearly as much as the sight of Sliema before it became a commercial haven in Malta. Notice the entrance to the old cinema, called the talkies, and the neighbouring shop, the Ritz Photo Studio which belonged to David’s family since 1926. Located at The Strand, that same building houses the Zara complex today.
The contrast to then and now is stark, but it might be fair to assume that the presence of snow excited locals then as much as it does now!