Last month was the sunniest and third hottest September Bahrain has experienced since records began.

The average temperature for the month was 33.9C, which is 1.5C higher than usual for this time of year, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Since 1902, only 1998 and 2010 had hotter Septembers at 34.5C and 34.3C, respectively.

The highest temperature recorded last month was 40.8C on September 4, due to warm westerly to north-westerly winds, which dominated during that morning.

There were four days during the month when the maximum temperature reached 40C or above and the average relative humidity for the month stood at 50 per cent - the lowest since 1955.

September was also the sunniest month since sunshine records began in 1968, with a total of 339.8 hours of sunshine - beating the old record of 334.8 hours in 2012. - TradeArabia News Service