Malta Rainfall Rebounds Slightly: Farmers Breathe, But Islands Remain Thirsty

**A Drop of Relief: Malta’s Rainfall Shows Modest Recovery, But Farmers and Families Still Counting Every Cloud**

The skies above Malta have been stingy, but not quite as cruel as last year. According to fresh data from the Meteorological Office, the islands received 486 mm of rain over the past 12 months—about 14 % below the long-term average of 567 mm, yet a welcome 9 % uptick from the parched 2022-23 season that had farmers praying in the fields and grandparents reminiscing about the “real winters” of their youth.

In a country where every shower is dissected over pastizzi and where village saints are still paraded in the hope of divine intervention for rain, the modest rebound has sparked cautious optimism. “It’s not the għarajjes ta’ qatra we hoped for, but at least the cisterna isn’t bone-dry,” says Ninu Falzon, 68, who keeps a weather diary in his Rabat farmhouse just like his father did before him. “Last year I had to buy water for the citrus trees—this year the soil smells alive again.”

The Meteorological Office confirms that the extra rainfall was unevenly spread: November delivered two dramatic cloudbursts that flooded Sliemafront roads and turned Valletta’s new Tritons’ Fountain into a splash zone, while January and March limped along with barely a drizzle. “We’re seeing fewer rainy days, but when it rains, it pours—literally,” explains senior forecaster Dr. Claire Buttigieg. “Climate-change models predict this pattern will intensify: longer dry spells interrupted by intense events that our drainage systems struggle to absorb.”

For Malta’s 1,800 full-time farmers, every millimetre matters. Antoine Vella, who grows potatoes and onions in Qormi, says the slight improvement allowed him to plant on schedule for the first time in three years. “We saved roughly €1,200 in irrigation costs,” he calculates, wiping soil from his hands. Yet the underground water table remains critically low; bore-hole salinity levels are still 30 % higher than acceptable EU thresholds. “One average year doesn’t cancel out a decade of drought,” Vella warns.

Beyond the ledger books, rain is woven into Maltese identity. The proverb “xemx u xita, riħku Alla” (“sun and rain, God’s grace”) is stitched into lace patterns sold to tourists, and village band clubs still rehearse the old ballad “Il-Qatra tal-Għajn”, whose lyrics plead for “a drop for the farmer, a drop for the sailor, a drop for the lover who waits by the wall”. This year, the ballad was performed under a tent in Żejtun after a sudden September shower sent families scurrying—an irony that drew laughter and applause.

Tourism operators also keep an anxious eye on the heavens. “British and German visitors ask about rain more than they ask about the Pope,” jokes Claire-Marie Sant, who manages a boutique hotel in Birgu. The milder drought meant fewer dusty skies and greener countryside photographs on Instagram, boosting shoulder-season bookings by 4 %. “When the fields are brown in February, you can feel the mood dip; this year the island looked fertile, alive.”

Still, water utility corporation WSC notes that reservoir levels at Ta’ Qali and Ħaż-Żnuber stand at 54 % capacity—better than last year’s alarming 41 %, yet well below the 70 % comfort zone. Desalination plants continue to work overtime, accounting for 63 % of municipal supply and pushing electricity demand higher just as EU carbon credits tighten.

As Malta heads into the traditionally dry Mediterranean summer, the message from experts and elders alike is clear: enjoy the scent of wet earth while it lasts, but don’t ditch those water-saving habits. “We celebrated our first rain with mqaret and tea,” says Ninu Falzon, closing his weather diary. “But we closed the damper on the cistern the same night—just in case.”