BLUE Buoy Continues Monitoring During Intense Storm Conditions

Malta’s Buoy for Long-term Underwater Exploration (BLUE) has once again demonstrated its resilience and critical importance to national marine monitoring efforts. During this week’s intense storm, BLUE is the only ocean observatory buoy in Maltese waters, continuing to collect essential marine data in real time.

Despite harsh conditions, the buoy maintained uninterrupted logging of key oceanographic parameters every 10 minutes. Data recorded during the storm till now included:

• Wave heights reaching 6–9 metres, equivalent to more than two storeys
• Wind and gust speeds between 23–26 m/s
• Continuous measurements supporting marine forecasting and safety at sea

This real-time information plays a vital role in understanding storm behaviour, improving coastal resilience, and supporting Malta’s long-term marine and climate strategies under the River Basin Management Plan.

The public can explore the latest readings, interactive charts, and AI‑generated bulletins at:
https://ocean.mt/bluedata

This initiative is a collaboration between the Energy & Water Agency - the LIFE Programme as part of Action C.16 of the LIFE-IP RBMP Project, the Oceanography Malta Group at the University of Malta, the Environment & Resources Authority.