The modelling puts Malta’s rate at 745 deaths per million people. Only Italy was higher, at 776 per million, with an estimated 13,303 deaths.

Researchers attribute 45 of Malta’s estimated deaths to human-caused climate change.

A new investigation by the Urban Journalism Network and with support of the Journalismfund Europe uncovered how heatwaves are estimated to have killed more than 50,000 people in cities across Europe, the largest this century. Nearly two-thirds of those deaths can be attributed to the effects of human-caused global heating.

The findings are based on research papers published in the journal Nature Health by scientists from Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

The new studies depend on epidemiological modelling by Masselot and his colleagues for 854 cities across the European Union, the UK, Norway and Switzerland. The analysis covers only urban areas and accounts for about 40 per cent of the population of the 30 countries included.

The team behind the new papers also used climate models to simulate the temperatures cities would have experienced in a world not gripped by the climate crisis. This “counterfactual” temperature record let them estimate the proportion of deaths attributable to human-made climate change, which has grown as the climate crisis has intensified.

Estimating the numbers killed by excessive heat is necessary because death certificates rarely record heat as a contributing cause.

Many people who die in heatwaves are discovered hours later. By then, their body temperature will have already dropped, making it impossible to know whether heat was the main factor, especially if they had underlying health problems.

In fact, a recent parliamentary question revealed that according to the National Mortality Registry, 20 people died “as a direct consequence of the heat in Malta and Gozo” in July this year.

This year was Europe’s deadliest summer, surpassing previous highs set in 2003 and 2022. Temperature records were set across Europe, and several cities experienced repeated heatwaves.

Older adults, people aged 85 and older, accounted for almost half of the estimated deaths.

Heat typically kills by straining the cardiovascular system and kidneys, as people sweat and pump blood to the skin to lose heat. The elderly and those with preexisting cardiovascular or kidney disease adapt less well as temperatures rise.

Younger people can also be impacted. Researchers estimate more than 830 heat deaths across 854 cities among people aged 20 to 44.

The highest proportion of deaths attributable to human-made climate change occurred in Estonia, Bulgaria and Finland.

How estimates are calculated:

The new studies used complex statistical models that linked daily temperature records with patterns of recorded deaths from January 2000 to December 2019 in more than 230 European cities with detailed daily death records, as described in an earlier study published in The Lancet Planetary Health.

Because vulnerability to heat varies with age, the researchers trained these models on death records for five age groups, from 20 to 44 years to 85 and older. They then built models that accounted for geographic location and a range of characteristics, including population density and socioeconomic factors, to extend the findings to a wider group of 854 cities.

The statistical modelling produced a series of “exposure response functions,” one for each city. These allow researchers to estimate the number of daily deaths likely to occur at any given temperature. Using daily historical temperature records, the researchers estimated the total number of heat-related deaths in each city for every summer, from June to August, since the turn of the century.

The same methods can also estimate deaths in a hypothetical climate without global heating. To do this, the researchers applied climate models to simulate daily temperature records for what they call a “counterfactual“ climate with no human-caused warming.

While the estimates come from statistical modelling based on recorded temperatures, they align well with estimates released by national health authorities, modelled from death records. For example, using similar methods, Imperial and LSHTM researchers earlier estimated that 2,700 people died across the UK during heatwaves that hit the nation in May and June 2026. Shortly afterwards, the UK Health Security Agency released its own estimate of 2,877, based on an analysis of death records.

However, because they depend on statistical modelling from historical death records, the new estimates cannot account for any measures taken in recent years to mitigate the death toll from heatwaves. So, in countries and cities that have aggressively implemented heat action plans, they may overestimate the heat-related death count.

Since 2025, short-let licences have shot up by nearly a quarter. An Amphora Media analysis of data tabled by Tourism Minister Jo Etienne Abela shows that, as of September 2026, Malta has 8,748 active licences, up from 7,116 in 2025.

The industry continues to grow. Between January and August 2026, Malta hosted over 3.1 million tourists, up by almost 500,000 visitors from the year prior. Roughly a third of those tourists (1,025,600) stayed in some form of short-let accommodation, an increase of over 189,000.

The growth comes amid further reforms introduced after Amphora Media’s previous investigation into the industry. However, Swieqi Mayor Noel Muscat said the required changes should focus on the Planning Authority.

“All forms of businesses are controlled by the Planning Authority: if you [want to commercially use] a flat or premises, you have to apply for a change of use. We are asking the central government to control short lets that way,” he told Amphora Media.

He confirmed he submitted this proposal to the government during a pilot project covering his town and Valletta. “I can’t see why the government keeps resisting this change,” he said.

In April 2026, the government introduced a sector reform. Under new rules, the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) introduced mandatory licensing and a three-year ban for operators found without one. It also required operators to provide a 24/7 contact person, a waste management plan, and meet stricter property standards.

The stricter property standards apply only to properties granted a license after the reform took effect. It is unclear how many new licenses were issued after April 2026. However, at least 7,116 licenses are exempt. 

The waste management plan is already required. In July, MTA’s representative told the Times of Malta that it was developing signage standards.

Under new regulations, the following types of accommodation can operate as short lets: studio, apartment, house, villa, and farmhouse.  

Renting single rooms while the host lives on the premises is also allowed, but it requires a resident host accommodation licence, which needs an architect’s certification and insurance.

According to the latest data from Inside Airbnb, the number of listings on the platform reached 13,256, down from 10,042, with three-quarters listed as entire units. In addition to hotel rooms, the platform advertised over 3,000 private or shared rooms in Malta. It is unclear what kind of licence they hold, as Airbnb allows users to leave the licence field blank in Malta.

Our previous investigation, using data published in early 2025, found 9,376 listings; 7,141, or three-quarters, were entire apartments or homes. That means that there have been at least 3,880 new listings on the platform, which could include entire units, rooms and in some cases, hotel rooms.

A year ago, Amphora Media calculated that on average one in five properties listed on Airbnb may lack a compulsory licence from the Malta Tourism Authority, with hotspots such as Gżira (46%), Sliema (30%), and St Paul’s Bay (28%) showing even higher rates. 

Our estimates show that the number of unlicensed listings on the platform today ranges from 1,294 to 4,508, depending on whether the count includes only entire units.

Airbnb is the leading platform used for marketing short lets, followed by Booking.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor. No datasets comparable to Inside Airbnb’s are publicly available for other platforms. 

As identified in the previous investigation, several Gozitan localities have more licences than listings, a trend that continued this year, suggesting many Gozitan holiday lets are not advertised on Airbnb.

Pressure on the hotspots

St Paul’s Bay (1,145), St Julian’s (1,045), Sliema (1,030), Valletta (592), and Swieqi (522) are Malta’s top five localities for short-let licences, accounting for half of all short-let licences in Malta and Gozo.

Airbnb listings paint a different picture. As of September, Sliema has the most Airbnb listings in Malta, with 1,779 properties, including 1,307 entire units.  The runner-up, neighbouring St Julian’s, has 1,578 listings, 1,183 of them entire units. 

“Year after year, I meet ministers, etc., and I see no progress,” St Julian’s mayor Guido Dalli told Amphora Media, commenting on the negative effects of short lets. 

St Paul’s Bay has the third most listings, with 1,401 total listings, including 1,235 entire units. Subtracting MTA licences from the number of entire units advertised on Airbnb shows Gzira has the largest gap: 299 (out of Gzira’s 878 total listings, with 699 entire units). 

Amphora Media’s analysis a year ago also showed that the town had the largest potentially unlicensed sector. 

Precise cross-referencing of licences and listings is difficult at scale because MTA licences list addresses in various formats, while Airbnb listings use geographical coordinates.

Inspections and Enforcement

Amphora Media’s previous investigation found that despite Airbnb listings generating an estimated €47 million in revenue in 2024, the localities housing short-lets are overburdened with enforcement, waste, and public disturbance issues. In most towns facing over-tourism, police staffing decreased amid rising demand for police action.

Much of public attention focuses on Swieqi, which has more MTA licences than entire units advertised on Airbnb, and was the subject of its own Amphora Media investigation in collaboration with Newsbook.

“We’re still very concerned about shortlets in the locality,” says Swieqi mayor Muscat. “The majority of operators are responsible. But then you got the few naughty ones that ruin the party.” 

He says small increases in community policing have not kept up with ballooning tourist numbers, and the requirement that short-let operators have a waste management plan has not led them to hire a contractor to ensure waste is removed daily.

Swieqi was subject to a summer pilot project that coordinated enforcement between the MTA and other bodies, including the police and army. Minister Abela said this will be extended to St Julian’s, Sliema and St Paul’s Bay. 

Data tabled in parliament show that over the last two years, authorities have conducted more than 900 short-let inspections, finding 112 cases of non-compliance. In the first eight months of 2026 alone, authorities conducted 600 inspections in the locality, finding 120 properties in non-compliance.

Although the new rules explicitly state that “licences may be suspended or revoked for confirmed breaches relating to noise, waste or public health”, the minister has disclosed that no licence has been revoked for these reasons in 2024-2025 or as of 6 October.

On waste management, Muscat says little has changed on the ground. In his view, the requirement to have a waste management plan does not mean having a contractor to remove the waste, as hotels, shops, and other commercial establishments do.

“The Planning Authority must intervene to ensure these apartments have a functional swill room, not just on paper. Most will have a garage designated as a swill room, which nobody will use, or will be used for other purposes.”

Asked about enforcement efforts, Dalli of St Julian’s said, “I know there was a pilot project in Swieqi and Valletta, but I don’t know where it’s going.  To be honest, I also don’t know why it’s a pilot project, because all you have to do is find the person making a profit. It’s the owner of the apartment.”

“We have to educate the people who are coming to Malta,” Dalli said, suggesting that leaflets about waste collection and other rules should be distributed at the airport and in tourist accommodation. The new rules require informing guests about waste collection and visibly displaying information about it.

“[The owners] are getting 2,000 euros a month, and, as a mayor, I’m getting all the insults on Facebook, because the street is dirty.”

Dalli suggests adding responsibilities to the service agreement tourists conclude with the host on the platforms or otherwise. “It should be part of the contract.”

“The problem is that there was a change in the minister, and we don’t know the direction. There’s the garbage collection and the spot fines [policy], so those are being considered. But I don’t know if they’re being applied in the same way that [former] Minister [Ian] Borg had suggested,” adds Muscat of Swieqi. 

“Every time there’s a change in administration, unfortunately, in Malta there’s a change in style as well,” he says.

The ministry’s spokesperson did not answer Amphora Media’s questions about enforcement action in Gzira, where unlicensed activity appears to continue unabated.

Anthony Chircop killed Stephanie Rapa. He drove at 140km/h down a well-lit 35 km/h stretch of road into the unsuspecting thirty-year-old pharmacist.  He used “a special feature” to increase his speed. She was retraining to become a doctor, working at the pharmacy late that night. Video footage shows the impact. She is violently thrown meters into the air, landing on her head on the Gzira front tarmac. She didn’t die on impact. 

For those who knew Steph, the first thing you remember when you think of her is her smile. Followed by her slight guffaw. One of those laughs that showed her whole self, a good person. When I asked our classmates for their memories of her, they all said the same thing:

“I always remember her genuinely caring about how we are. That big smile asking, ‘ How are you?’ Even after school, she’d always be happy to see me at the pharmacy. She was a lovely person taken too soon.”

“You genuinely felt that she cared; it wasn’t just asking for the sake of asking. I can picture her tilting her head as she asked. She loved to joke too; there was a running joke she’d just repeat every time we met and found it hilarious.”

“Her smiling eyes!”

I went through primary and secondary school with Steph. We were on the same bus for all twelve years. Every morning when I was picked up, she was already on the bus, smiling, and every afternoon she was still smiling when I was dropped off. I was a grumpy child; a lot would say I still am, but her boundless optimism was infectious. 

Mr and Mrs Rapa adopted Steph when she was just six months. She had a sunshine face and wore glasses that magnified the kindness in her eyes.  She was smart and diligent, a nerd truly loved by all. I often find myself thinking of her. It brings a smile to my face, but it immediately turns when I think of what happened to her that night. Her smile, that car, the tarmac. I am confronted by feelings of anger when I remember how the justice system failed her and her parents. Feelings that turn to guilt because we let her down.

“She was the heart of our home,” Mrs Rapa told reporters with tears rolling down her face.

“Life does go on for us, but the beauty of it has gone.”

I can’t recall why I thought of Steph the other day. Somebody’s laugh? Another road fatality? I looked up reports. I blinked. 19th October 2017. Only three days after Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination. I was convinced Steph’s death had happened years after. I clearly remember how I reacted when I first heard the news. But I couldn’t remember when.

“To think that Steph was adopted by such loving parents, gave her the best education they could, provided her with a safer life than that she would have otherwise experienced, for Malta to end up being far deadlier,” another school friend said.

In the past nine years, at least 158 people have died on Malta’s roads.

Anthony Chircop was convicted of involuntary murder. He was a serial offender. Arrested multiple times for reckless driving, drunk driving, and driving without a licence. 2001, 2014, and 2016. Each time, he was let off with a warning, a measly fine or a suspended licence. In 2017, he inevitably killed someone. He pled guilty six years later, received a suspended sentence, and had his license disqualified for two years.

His Nissan Skyline, originally confiscated, was returned to him on appeal because of another procedural fuck-up. At least in that same appeal, they overturned the previous court’s heinous ruling that the victim, Stephanie, was equally guilty for crossing next to the pelican-crossing and not on it.

I wonder what Anthony Chircop is doing now. On an island where the laws are regularly flouted, it is easier to imagine him thundering down the road, tyres screeching around the corner from where your child is crossing the street.

Next week will be the ninth anniversary of her death, and Daphne’s. Both bound by a justice system that continues to fail its citizens “But what about Karin Grech?” “What about Raymond Caruana?” Yes, the state has failed them too. Just as it failed Daphne, it failed Stephanie Rapa, Jean Paul Sofia, Lassana Cisse, and the countless other victims in Malta’s relentless race to the bottom. 

Our fight for justice does not begin and end with Daphne Caruana Galizia. We fight for justice in Malta and for all the people who call it home. We are all victims of this justice system – and we should all be standing side by side with those who are fighting for a better Malta on 16th October at the Great Siege Memorial.

On an island where we are all potential collateral, remember Stephanie Rapa. Remember her smile. And if you find that you cannot smile, then rage. Rage against those who would rather we forget. 

The investigation, by Lilith Wittmann, Follow the Money, SVT, NDR, and NRK, places Platincasino and its owner, Thomas Kalman, at the centre of the billion-euro illegal online gambling probe.

Kalman’s lawyer, Nik Sarafi, told Wittmann the accusations were baseless. Kalman has not been charged with a crime.

The Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office has confirmed that more than 100 officers searched 11 properties on 8th September, mainly in Frankfurt and the surrounding Rhine-Main region. 

Five people are accused of offering online gambling commercially and as an organised group, without the required German licence, since at least July 2021. Prosecutors allege that about €5.86 billion was staked between July 2021 and the end of 2023. They also allege that the company did not pay gambling taxes in full or at all, and put the tax loss for 2024 alone at about €77.6 million. A Frankfurt district court issued the arrest warrant for the main suspect.

Prosecutors have not named the suspect. However, on 17th September, the Joint Gambling Authority of the German Federal States (GGL) welcomed the arrests linked to a €5.86 billion illegal gambling operation between July 2021 and the end of 2023. In that statement, the GGL explicitly warned consumers against participating in illegal offers such as Platincasino.

The investigation notes that the details of the Frankfurt arrest, including the figures and place of residence, match Kalman’s. 

Platincasino appeared online around 2014. From November 2017, the casino was associated with the Maltese company Red Rhino Limited, which held a Malta Gaming Authority licence. 

Archived versions of the site from 30th November 2017 identified the operator as Red Rhino Limited, a Maltese company holding MGA licence MGA/CL1/1364/2017. The latest known licence issued to Red Rhino was MGA/B2C/398/2017 and has been surrendered.

Maltese company records list Red Rhino’s parent company as Lazy Ape Holding Limited. The Malta Business Registry lists ARX Trustees Limited as the shareholder.

Documents seen by journalists from a leak of the MGA records that Wittmann conducted show Thomas Kalman, a Frankfurt-based entrepreneur, as Red Rhino’s sole ultimate beneficial owner.

According to the MBR UBO registry,  Thomas Kalman is the 100% owner of Red Rhino and the other companies. The companies have since changed their names. Red Rhino Limited changed its name to Rursus Inc Ltd in October 2025. Lazy Ape changed its name to Praestator Tech Ltd in November 2025. 

The reporters claim the companies fall under The Multiple Group brand, which has no matching company in the Maltese register and no EU trademark. The brand was used by employees, on social-media accounts, and at company events.

The investigation states that it handles Platincasino’s Zendesk support logins and advertises for German-speaking casino support staff in Malta. Those listings were live until September 2026. It also says that its current Facebook page is the former Red Rhino. The article says Kalman appears in its company-party videos from 2024 and spring 2026.

Germany’s new gambling law took effect in July 2021, allowing online casinos to obtain a German licence for the first time. The article notes that Kalman’s companies applied and were rejected. A bank statement filed in the Maltese company register shows that Red Rhino paid about €5.64 million to the Frankfurt tax office for German virtual slot machine tax for October 2022

In August 2023, a “Platincasino.com Database Migration Plan” was submitted to the MGA, setting 4 October 2023 as the date for transferring the casino’s player database.

The brand, domains and player data were later sold to Latiform BV, a company in Curaçao. Financial statements reportedly show that it paid €6 million for them.

The reporters say the gambling and betting licensing process has serious systemic issues.

Jetzt, an Austrian publication that partnered in the investigation, traced how former MGA head Mario Galea embedded himself in Curaçao’s regulatory framework. 

According to the article, Galea, on behalf of his company called Random Consulting, fielded gambling industry representatives’ questions at the Hilton Hotel in St Julian’s in November 2024. This was the SiGMA summit, one of Malta’s key industry events. 

According to Jetzt, Galea complained on the podium about ‘weak’ applications and ‘fake’ domains. In response to Jetzt reporters’ questions, Galea said his company was just a contractor supporting Curaçao’s authorities with ‘fact-finding’, and the ultimate decisions about licensing were fully in the hands of the responsible Curaçao authority.

In 2025, Galea was honoured in the SiGMA Euro-Med awards for his role in developing Malta’s early gambling regulations.

The case lands in the middle of a long-running dispute between Malta and Germany over MGA-licensed operators serving German players.

In 2023, Parliament passed Bill 55, adding Article 56A to the Gaming Act. The provision allows Maltese courts to refuse to recognise foreign judgments against Malta-licensed operators for activity that is lawful under Maltese law. German players have sued Malta-licensed operators to recover their losses, and critics have said the provision shields operators from such claims.

Taken together, the data shows that since 2006, Malta has lost at least 1.94 square kilometres of green land. The largest shift appears to be after 2012, which accounts for 90% of the land lost in the period under review.

Explore the map

According to the European Environment Agency, “the continuous loss of ecosystem functions renders [Europe] increasingly vulnerable when it comes to food self‑sufficiency and natural disasters”, and that going forward, governments should protect the most productive land from development.

A patchwork of strategies and plans governs development that converts natural or agricultural land into built-up areas. Sustainability goals exist in the Development Planning Act and local plans, but regulation, starting from the PN government’s rationalisation exercise in 2006, has allowed limited green spaces on the islands to be developed.

The government, in turn, is one of the largest developers of green land into grey space, contributing at least 112,467 m2 through prominent projects like the Hal Far expansion, Central Link, Addolorata cemetery, and airport runway expansion.

The Development Planning Act

The Development Planning Act includes a non-enforceable declaration that “It shall be the duty of the Government to enhance the quality of life for the benefit of the present and future generations” and “to consider public values, costs, benefits, risks and uncertainties involved when taking any decisions”.

The Act states that “In the pursuance of its functions under this Act, the [Planning] Authority shall, as far as possible, make reference to European Union best practices and standards”. The EU has set a goal of no net land take by 2050, which means no further increase in the share of land converted from natural to artificial surfaces. This means new land can still be built up, but it would need to be compensated by recultivating other built-up land.

The same law also stipulates that “no development shall be carried out except with development permission”. Development is defined as “building, engineering, quarrying, mining or other operations for the construction, demolition or alterations” or the making of any material change in use of land or building and sea, with limited exceptions such as maintenance. 

But the Act also opens a pathway to regularise development carried out without permission. A parliamentary question asked in 2023 revealed that over 2,000 illegally built structures were sanctioned between 2013 and then.

Moviment Graffiti and the local council challenged the Qala development mentioned earlier partly on the grounds of its negative impact on agricultural land. The court accepted the challengers’ arguments that agricultural use should be retained, and called the earlier tribunal’s reasoning that other uses, such as recreational pools, are permissible because they are not excluded by policy, “absurd”. For this reason alone, the court upheld the appeal, finding that the development was not permissible and the encroachment into agricultural land should not have been allowed.

A fresh application to sanction two pools in the same development is pending. 

In response to Amphora Media’s questions, the developers’ spokesperson said that “the land in question was already scheduled for development. The choice was therefore not between development and leaving the site in its natural state, but between one comprehensive, coordinated development and the possibility of approximately 40 individual plots being developed separately by different owners over time. We are very proud of the resulting development.”

The spokesperson added that “the relevant fines are being contested and we are currently pursuing the applicable sanctioning process” and that the developers “do not accept the characterisation that [the pools] were simply “illegally developed”, particularly while […] comparable pool developments on ODZ land have been permitted or sanctioned elsewhere in Malta and Gozo.”

Strategies, policies and plans

The entire territory of Malta is to be developed according to a Spatial Strategy. Local plans are adopted to manage development where that strategy is not enough.

In the early 90s through 2006, the government adopted policies and plans to regulate development in rural settlements outside the development zone (ODZ). The Rural Policy and Design Guidance, adopted in 2014, explicitly allowed expansion of buildings and introduction of enterprises in rural areas. The policy conflicted with adopted local plans, and in 2024, the government began revising the plans to avoid such conflicts.

The guiding principles in plans and strategies are written to safeguard localities from encroachment by construction. For example, the 2006 Gozo and Comino Local Plan stipulates that the overall strategy on these two islands encourages development that “improves the quality of life and the environment”, “is compatible with surrounding activities”, and “does not constitute over-development”.

“The extensive rural areas in Gozo and Comino require protection measures, and this is achieved by restraining further urban expansion, by protecting areas of conservation value and by designating strategic open space gaps between existing settlements,” the plan continues. 

As developments such as structures in Qala, which build over such open space gaps, suggest, expansions of built-up areas are approved anyway. 

Adopted in 2015, the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development (SPED) allows “social and community facilities” for education, health, and care for elderly people, among others, to be located in rural areas where “no feasible alternatives exist” in urban areas.

The Planning Reforms 

In 2020, the government changed the fuel stations policy, capping their total number and effectively banning new fuel stations on agricultural land. Extensions of fuel stations outside development zones are no longer permitted.

Earlier in July, the government announced a planning reform by which, when a development permit is subject to appeal, works must be suspended for the appeal’s duration rather than being allowed to continue or even be completed while the appeal is pending. The reform also introduces time limits for considering appeals: a tribunal must convene within 30 days of works being suspended and take no more than six months to reach a decision. Critics have pointed out loopholes in the reform.

Unveiling the reform, planning minister Jonathan Attard said it was proof that “the political commitments we have made to the people are being turned into concrete action, by placing quality of life, public trust and the rule of law at the heart of the planning system.”

The pattern is not one of missing rules, but of rules with built-in exits. The Development Planning Act’s duty to protect quality of life is declaratory and cannot be enforced against the Authority. SPED permits community facilities on rural land where no urban alternative is judged feasible. The Rural Policy and Design Guidance allowed rural buildings to expand in conflict with local plans, until the plans were revised to match. And where building happens without permission, the Act provides a route to regularise it: more than 2,000 illegal structures were sanctioned between 2013 and 2023.Of the 1.94 square kilometres lost since 2006, 90% went after 2012. 

“The countryside and coast remain two of the most important natural resources to conserve and protect from inappropriate development,” the 2006 Gozo and Comino Local Plan reads. It did not protect the agricultural land.

Agriculture is an environmental double-edged sword. On one hand, it is Europe’s largest contributor to biodiversity loss. On the other, half of all species in the EU rely on agricultural habitats. 

According to the European Environment Agency, conversion of natural or semi-natural land (it includes cropland) into artificial surfaces “reduces ecosystem resilience by fragmenting landscapes, decreasing carbon storage and biodiversity capacity, increasing flood risk through higher surface run-off, and intensifying heatwave impacts in urban areas” while also decreasing quality of life.

A new investigation by Amphora Media, guided by Arena for Journalism in Europe and supported by The Malta Environment Foundation, reveals that Malta lost nearly 830,000 square metres to construction between 2018 and 2023. Since 2006, Malta has lost at least 1.94 square kilometres of green land.

Explore the map

A deep learning image recognition model compared satellite images over time and flagged land that appeared developed from above, with journalists manually removing incorrect data.

When reviewing satellite imagery, Amphora Media’s team found land in rural areas that was used for parking cars, boats, and other scrap material, unable to serve its ecological function.

Between 2012 and 2018, around 920,000 square metres were taken up, according to the European Environment Agency’s estimate. 

Figures show that in nearly 95% of the take-up, farmland rather than natural area was affected. Around 26% of the Maltese islands’ area is covered by artificial surfaces, and almost 15% is built up as of 2022. 

“We cannot continue to sacrifice agricultural land for short-term economic gains,” BirdLife Malta, an environmental NGO, said in response to a new agricultural policy document earlier this year.

Agricultural land in the city to be built over

Concerns about the loss of agricultural land boiled over again in a discussion about an application to develop a plot in Swatar, a highly urbanised area. 

“Once again, the Planning Authority has chosen to side with developers instead of protecting the environment and the quality of life of residents,” the Momentum party said in a press release, reacting to the approval of the planning application.

“Beyond its agricultural value, this space plays an important role in the daily lives of residents. It offers a sense of openness in a dense urban environment, supporting both physical and mental well-being. It also serves a critical environmental function by absorbing rainwater runoff, helping to reduce flooding risks in surrounding areas, particularly in Msida,” Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, an environmental NGO, said

Agricultural sector in decline

Declining farmland goes hand in hand with Malta’s dwindling agricultural sector.

Between 2018 and 2023, Malta produced nearly 8% less vegetables and 12.3% less fruit (by weight). Between the two last agricultural censuses, 2010 and 2020, Malta lost nearly one in six agricultural holdings and over 6% of utilised agricultural land.

When development competes with agricultural land, its prices only rise. According to the latest agricultural census, Maltese farmers have 10,731 hectares of farmland, and about half of it is rented from the government. Land purchase prices in Malta are by far the highest in the EU.

“In Malta, one of the smallest countries in the world, land comes at a premium, and access to land is very limited. So if you have a new farmer, it’s almost impossible to enter the sector because they don’t have access to land and water,” Malcolm Borg, who leads Ghaqda Bdiewa Attivi, told Amphora Media in a previous investigation.

Despite farmers asking for help to afford land, Amphora Media’s earlier investigation has shown that funds earmarked by the EU to support farmers are routinely directed to road-building in Malta.

Cover image by: Joanna Demarco

Among the 20 largest pieces of land to be developed, the government is responsible for developing at least 112,466 m2 of land, roughly 13% of the total developed from 2018 onwards.

Explore the map

This analysis did not examine the circumstances of planning application approvals and focuses only on land-use change. There is no implication of wrongdoing.

These developments chip away at cropland and natural areas, making Malta one of the top countries in Europe for land loss to development.

Amphora Media has examined some of the largest land take-up projects. The research was based on analysis of satellite imagery [link to methodology]. 

No. 1 – Ħal-Far Industrial Estate – 32,948 m2

The plot is located within the Ħal Far Industrial Estate, managed by INDIS Malta, and has served as an industrial zone for decades. Back in 2018, this particular piece was an undeveloped field, and the converted area makes it the largest land take-up during the analysed period.

In 2022, Minister Silvio Schembri announced the relocation of Elepac Ltd’s factory to Hal Far. In 2024, the company applied to convert part of its factory to a waste management operation. According to reports, the land footprint was smaller than at the factory’s previous location.

In response to Amphora Media’s questions, INDIS Malta said that “INDIS Malta has never converted Outside Development Zones (ODZ) for industrial purposes. On the contrary, it has actively released thousands of square metres of land previously designated as industrial back to the Lands Authority so that they can be reverted to ODZ.”

No. 2 – Concert Grounds in Ta’ Qali –  24,131 m2

Concert Grounds in Ta’ Qali was the second-largest expansion of built-up area, although satellite images show paths and structures in the area as of 2018. A permit to build concert facilities was granted in 2021 and included landscaping.

The Parks in Malta website describes the area used for concerts in Ta’ Qali as “previously derelict” and since transformed into “soft and hard landscaped spaces”. For prominent concerts, the location is indicated as Ta’ Qali National Park.

Instead, as reported in the media, the government has controversially paved gravel over a large picnic area within the adjacent national park, raising concerns about its impact on the soil, the material’s suitability, and its cost.

No. 3 – Addolorata Cemetery – 23,848 m2

The expansion of the government-owned Addolorata cemetery was the third-largest land take-up identified in the data. In 2019, Chris Fearne, then Minister of Health, announced the cemetery extension, adding 2,880 new graves.

No. 4 – Mqabba Quarry – 20,692 m2

The Mqabba quarry is the fourth-largest development. The plot, identified on Google Maps as Sier and Sons, is licensed for handling inert and excavation waste, among other activities. 

Quarries are included in the data as they are disturbed land that no longer supports ecosystems, and quarrying, alongside mining, is mentioned as development in the Development Planning Act.

No 5: Central Link Project 19,136.1 m² (combined two sites 6,586.46 m² + 12,549.64 m²)

Road expansion in Attard for the Central Link project, across two areas, was one of the largest intakes. 

Environmental groups had challenged the project in court and lost. Meanwhile, Infrastructure Malta insisted that the project would “halve travel times” and bring “better quality of life for thousands of residents”.

No. 6 – Shoreline Mall – 19,067 m2

The Shoreline Mall has occupied what used to be coastal land. Complete with trampolines and wall climbing, and home to a Starbucks and numerous global clothing brands, the mall is ultimately owned by five businessmen.

No. 7 – Quarry in Dingli 18,116 m2

Satellite image shows how fields were replaced with a busy developed site with stripped topsoil. 

No. 8 –  Estate – 17,612 m2

The estate, home to General Maintenance Ltd, an engineering company, and MaritimeMt, a training academy for maritime professionals, was once a field.

No. 9 – Gozo Plot –  16,425 m2

[Updated] The Gozo plot, which used to be covered with fields, was indicated as hosting Malta Rescue Corps, an emergency response organisation. When contacted, the organisation sent the following correction: “We would like to clarify that the location indicated […] is incorrect. It had been marked wrongly, and this was updated [On Saturday 12 September].”

No. 10 – Quarry 15,147 m2

Land covered in fields has seen apparent quarry expansion. ERA lists six quarries in the area.

No. 11 – AX Centre in Mosta –  14,719 m2

A field surrounded by development has become the AX Business Centre in Mosta. AX Group calls this development “sustainable” and “eco-conscious”.

No 12: Antoine Camilleri block in Naxxar – 14,552 m2

A large area of rural land in Naxxar is being turned into a 6-floor development with underlying garages. Developed by Antoine Camilleri with Onyx.

The development entered the news earlier this year after the threat of a major collapse saw residents evacuated.

No. 13: Qala ODZ-Pools – 13,751 m2

The Hal Wardija resort apartments complex in Qala has replaced fields that broke up a heavily developed landscape in Gozo. The area is marketed to tourists as “quiet”.

This development consisted of separate applications to build garages and apartments. Pools were built illegally and then sanctioned, but a court later revoked that decision. Excel Investments Ltd filed the applications; it is co-owned by Daniel Refalo, Joseph Portelli, and Mark and Joseph Agius, and the fines for the illegal pools remain pending. A new application to sanction two pools is pending. 

ERA had objected to this development, given its ODZ encroachment, and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage noted with “grave concern” that the development was irreversibly changing the rural area.

In response to Amphora Media’s questions, the developers’ spokesperson said that “the land in question was already scheduled for development. The choice was therefore not between development and leaving the site in its natural state, but between one comprehensive, coordinated development and the possibility of approximately 40 individual plots being developed separately by different owners over time. We are very proud of the resulting

development.”

The spokesperson added that “the relevant fines are being contested and we are currently pursuing the applicable sanctioning process” and that the developers “do not accept the characterisation that [the pools] were simply “illegally developed”, particularly while […] comparable pool developments on ODZ land have been permitted or sanctioned elsewhere in Malta and Gozo.”

No 14:  Airport runway expansion – 12,403.86 m²

This rounds up the largest land use changes on government sites (Central Link, the cemetery, the industrial estate expansion, and the concert grounds).

No 15: Villas and Apartments in Attard: 12,069.56 m²

A large green area in Attard, located behind the American Embassy in Ta’ Qali.

The site was developed across multiple applications and includes villas, terraced houses, and apartment blocks.

No 16. Vista Xlokk, Marsaxlokk: 11,783.35 m²

A housing development in Marsaxlokk called Vista Xlokk ate up several fields. Malta Tourism Authority’s listings show that at least one of the development’s apartments is used as a short-let.

No. 17: The Crest, Sannat: 10,792.49 m²

This development included residential units and pools. Realtors market apartments in the development to those who enjoy “natural surroundings” and “country views”.

While Valletta stands as one of Malta’s most celebrated historical landmarks, an area of green space larger than the UNESCO capital has been lost to construction since 2018.

A new investigation by Amphora Media, in collaboration with Arena for Journalism in Europe and supported by The Malta Environment Foundation, reveals how nearly 830,000 square metres of nature and cropland have been built up in Malta between 2018 and 2023.

That’s about 116 football pitches – or two Manoel Islands – and roughly a quarter of Comino. It’s almost double the entire land area of Vatican City.

The investigation uses methodology established in ‘Green to Grey’, an award-winning investigation into documented green land (nature and cropland) loss in Europe. It was coordinated by Arena for Journalism in Europe and initiated by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) to quantify for the first time exactly how much nature is being lost to construction in Europe. 41 journalists from 11 countries worked together with scientists from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) to refine their novel methodology. Malta was excluded… until now.

Explore the map

Malta’s total land loss stands at 0.26%, placing it above the UK and among the top 5 countries by share of green area lost to development. The figure is a conservative estimate as the data uses an AI model to flag potential ‘Green to Grey’ areas.

The largest five areas identified in the research in Malta ranged from over 20,000 to over 34,000 square metres.

The land use changes may seem small on a map and are dispersed across Malta and Gozo. But as Peter Verburg, a professor of environmental spatial analysis at VU University Amsterdam, explained, the cumulative impact is driving global change.

According to figures provided by the European Environment Agency, Malta lost 920,000 square metres of land to development between 2012 and 2018; between 2006 and 2012, Malta lost 190,000 square metres.

Taken together, the data show that since 2006, when the PN government introduced its rationalisation exercise, Malta has lost at least 1.94 square kilometres of green land.

Artificial surfaces are the largest land use category in Malta, followed by cropland, which constitutes another quarter, and shrubland, about one fifth of the land area.

Statistically, around 26% of the Maltese islands’ area is covered by artificial surfaces, and almost 15% is built up as of 2022. 

Source: Eurostat

For comparison, areas enjoying some form of protection under the Natura 2000 framework cover nearly 14% of Malta’s land. Compared to other EU countries, Malta has a low rate of artificial area per resident, meaning that many people are concentrated in relatively small built-up areas.

In the Green to Grey team’s analysis, the Netherlands led in the share of land taken up by construction between 2018 and 2023, with 0.46%. Belgium, Poland, and the UK followed, with 0.25% or more. Countries of the Scandinavian peninsula lost 0.06% or less.

How did we do it?

With guidance from Arena for Journalism in Europe and Green to Grey’s coordinators, Amphora Media replicated the project’s methodology. This consisted of:

1. Using Dynamic World, a land use and land cover dataset produced by Google and the World Resources Institute, employing a deep learning model;
2. Tuning the algorithm to isolate every pixel that changed from not being built-up to being built-up between 2018 and 2023;
3. Manually verifying the model’s output;
4. Calculating the land take-up;
5. Finding case studies.

The team did not manually examine the entire territory of Malta to see whether the algorithm missed any developments, so the calculations and the map of identified land use change are conservative estimates, and some developments may be missing.

This method used satellite images only and did not address whether the land taken up is outside the development zone.

How to use the map

The map outlines the areas that were developed (turned from green to grey) and were detected as such by the algorithm. By scrolling through the map, you can zoom in, select a site, and see how it changed from a satellite view.

The Amphora Media team verified the shapes on the map using satellite imagery. Inaccuracies may occur where satellite images were unclear. The algorithm may have missed some developments because it relied only on satellite imagery. Therefore, use the map as a starting point for further inquiry rather than as conclusive evidence.

This investigation was supported by The Malta Environment Foundation

Public groundwater from boreholes and pumping galleries covers close to 42% of the total public water supply. Nearly two-thirds of monitoring stations across the islands showed that groundwater levels decreased between 2000 and 2021 due to abstraction.

Data obtained by Amphora Media from the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) show that Polidano Brothers Ltd, Monte Kristo Vineyards Ltd and Polmesh Ltd have extracted nearly 227.5 million litres of water in 2020-2024 from their metered boreholes.

Monte Kristo Vineyards is the single largest extractor in the data set, extracting nearly 118.7 million litres of groundwater. It has four registered boreholes, but ERA had data from only one of them. This means that the company’s water footprint may be even larger. The boreholes are located in Mqabba, Qrendi and Siggiewi.

Polidano Group did not respond to Amphora Media’s questions about its water consumption and operations.

University of Malta’s water management expert Dr Julian Mamo says that some water sources are more important than others. “It’s all about drawdown,” he says, explaining how water in aquifers sits in lens-shaped structures, and intense extraction at the top of the aquifer would lower the water level for all nearby users, leading to seawater intrusion. “It very much depends on where you are. So the problem is the uncontrolled use from a single point,” he said.

The Planning Authority’s map shows that the Monte Kristo Vineyards site lies next to water infrastructure important for the public supply.

One of the boreholes that has no data is registered for private water supply. By law, private water suppliers provide water for commercial food and drink production, consumption on hospitality and restaurant premises, hospitals, and bottling. They must be registered.

Monte Kristo Vineyards has not filed accounts with the Malta Business Registry in almost 16 years. It risked being struck off in 2024, but avoided the procedure.

Malta Business Registry declined to comment on this specific case, but said that generally speaking, the striking off process can be halted “where an objection is received from a creditor, where the Registry is informed of pending judicial proceedings, or where the company demonstrates that it remains operational.”

Polmesh was set up to manufacture and supply building materials, and for steel manufacturing. It extracted nearly 62 million litres of water from its borehole in 2020-2024. Polidano Brothers extracted a further 47 million litres.

When asked whether commercial water supply, including by Montekristo Direct for government tenders, comes from an unmetered borehole, government authorities did not reply.

Supported by the government

Polidano companies have received government contracts for various construction, excavation and repair works. The Monte Kristo complex has hosted government-promoted events: a start-up festival, a statue collectors’ event, and an Arts Council workshop for children. Another company co-owned by Polidano, which specialises in alcohol and beverages, got a tender to supply soft drinks.

Charles Polidano had reportedly accrued some €40 million in unpaid taxes by 2021, before settling for less than €10 million with the tax commissioner.

Polidano Brothers ended the year 2023 with a loss of nearly €6 million, which it attributed to construction delays despite construction contracts worth €32 million and revenues from building materials, sale of property, and sale of fuel. Auditors noted that the company did not provide sufficient documentation for the audit.

In the financial year 2019, Polidano Brothers entered into an agreement with the Inland Revenue Department to repay overdue social security contributions with the government agreeing to waive some penalties for late payment. However, the company admitted to not respecting the terms of the agreement and instead discussing with the government to settle partly in-kind or introduce “set-offs against dues by Government to the Company”.

Polmesh, too, ended 2023 with a loss of close to €600,000.

Monte Kristo Vineyards Ltd received agricultural subsidies through the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2023 and 2024. The area has been subject to Planning Authority enforcement notices over illegal building on the agricultural site, which also features a concrete plant and a batching plant.

Charles Polidano’s 2009 and 2010 applications to sanction Montekristo’s family park, including an illegal zoo and an extension of its winery, in Siggiewi, were approved by the Planning Authority in July 2025 despite pending court cases concerning the site.

Official data shows that Monte Kristo Vineyards Ltd received over €36,000 in CAP subsidies in 2024, about a third of which were for environmental measures, and a further €37,000 in 2025.

In 2017, “Montekristo” (not specified, although the group contains several companies with this brand) received a €122,500 catering and ancillary services tender to service Malta’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2017.

This investigation was developed with the support of Journalismfund Europe.

A cross-border investigation covering Malta, Cyprus and Portugal shows that three of the EU’s five most water-stressed countries systematically tolerate over-exploitation by for-profit companies. 

“Turn off the water while you brush your teeth and save up to 15 litres a minute. That’s up to 760 litres a week for a family of four,” a government campaign says. Meanwhile, the largest groundwater user drew at least 250,867 litres per week for a sprawling estate.

In 2023, Malta used 35 million cubic metres, or 35 billion litres, of groundwater. 13 million cubic metres were used for the public water supply; over 17 million for irrigation in agriculture and forestry; and roughly 1.5 million for manufacturing and services.

“Over-abstraction has resulted in the intrusion of saline waters in the main mean sea level aquifer systems, contributing to the gradual salinisation of these important groundwater reserves,” a government green paper, published in 2023, said.

To address unsustainable use, the green paper proposed pricing and quotas for water users. Since then, nothing has happened, except for unspecified “internal discussions”, according to the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA).

The registered commercial share is another question. Official records provided by ERA to Amphora Media show that more than 63% of all registered commercial groundwater boreholes are providing “no data”.

“What is probably happening is that most operators across the board would have one registered borehole and one or more, which is not. This so that, if the government decides to charge a tariff on the water pumped from the registered borehole, they will shift pumping from one borehole to another and continue as usual,” water treatment engineer and hydrologist Marco Cremona told Amphora Media after reviewing the data.

He is convinced that the dataset is incomplete: “I know of a number of commercial operators that pump a lot of water but are not on the list. For example, there is no information on the groundwater being pumped by commercial laundries – who also are big users of water,” he said.

Data indicates a rise in groundwater abstraction (more colloquially, extraction) by commercial operators over the period.

In 2020, total consumption stood at 459.9 million litres. By 2023, it had climbed to 656.8 million litres. In 2024 (the most recently available data), the figure dipped to 605.3 million litres, below the 2023 peak but still well above 2020 levels.

THE TOP GROUNDWATER ABSTRACTORS

Over-Abstraction Can Make Groundwater ‘Unusable For Decades’

A report by the European Environment Agency has found that over-abstraction causes salty water to mix with freshwater sources, particularly in Mediterranean countries like Malta, which could render groundwater “unusable for decades.”

It can also damage agricultural yields. Groundwater supplies over 80% of the Maltese agricultural sector’s needs, costing these users around €0.25 per cubic metre to deliver it where it is needed.

Marsa Sports Club, itself a major water user with over 18 million litres abstracted in 2020-2024, told Amphora Media that increasing salinity has been demanding more investments: “as the quality of the groundwater has deteriorated over the years through increasing salinity, the Club has been obliged to invest significant funds in adapting its facilities,” the club said. “These investments have been funded from the Club’s limited resources.”

The EU has set objectives to restore and protect the water cycle from source to sea by recognising water scarcity as a priority in the European Green Deal and various strategies, stating that “groundwater needs to be protected from pollution and over-exploitation”. 

The bloc’s Water Resilience Strategy calls for action to address “structural mismanagement of water due to both legal and illegal over-abstraction”.

Countries must “increase their efforts to register and control all abstractions”, and a pan-EU review of the strategy is promised in 2027. A 2025 Commission recommendation calls on countries to “apply appropriate water pricing to ensure the efficient use of water” and “adopt sufficiently dissuasive sanctions for illegal, unregistered or non-permitted water abstractions and discharges”.

None of this has stopped the government of Malta from allowing commercial operators to benefit from free groundwater abstraction, as long as they own boreholes.

Spokespersons of the government authorities contacted for comment did not reply to Amphora Media’s questions. The European Commission’s spokesperson told the investigation team that in principle, “Member States are required to control abstractions of fresh surface water and groundwater” including “a requirement for prior authorisation and the maintenance of a register or registers of water abstractions”, but “Member States may exempt from these controls any abstractions that ‘have no significant impact on water status.”

“There is some room for manoeuvre, and member states have been overusing this exemption now for years,” says Claire Baffert, water expert at the WWF European Policy Office.

How the free water economy works

The arrangement is simple: whoever owns a borehole pumps it for free.

Based on ERA data obtained by Amphora Media, Cremona compared extraction data across seasons and noted that summer abstraction is 29% above the annual average.

“A substantial part of this water is pumped by bowser operators who sell their water to hotels, for landscaping, for the filling up of swimming pools etc. In comparison, the pumping in winter (the wet season in Malta) goes down to 22% below the annual average,” he said.

Non-potable water, called second-class water, can be used for toilet flushing, laundry, cleaning and irrigation. This water would cost €0.093 per cubic metre for agricultural or industrial purposes, or €0.932 per cubic metre for building or other applications, if it was purchased from the Water Services Corporation.

“Some commercial operators have reverse osmosis plants operating on groundwater, as an alternative to buying town water. In this situation, we are looking at three costs:

• the cost of pumping it from the ground to the surface – which is a relatively minor cost; 
• the cost of the treatment process itself (both in capital expenditure and operating costs); 
• and finally, there’s the discharge cost of the reverse osmosis reject. 

Notwithstanding these costs, it is still cheaper than buying public water,” Cremona said.

Dr Julian Mamo, a lecturer at the University of Malta working on water resources management in Malta, says that the cost of pumping, or lifting, groundwater cannot be considered negligible for sectors with lower profit margins such as agriculture. 

“In a country like Malta, where in the past our ancestors had to live with water scarcity, people then generally used water efficiently. Today this may not be the case for everyone, for sure. But generally, full-time farmers continue to use water efficiently because of the effort required to obtain this water,” he said.

“It’s the cumulative impact of all those abstractions that matters, and if none of those is monitored, then you end up in a situation where there is just too much water abstracted without everyone taking note of that,” WWF’s Baffert says.  Yet Malta’s commercial sector, responsible for 16% of private abstractions as of 2023 and growing, continues to pump for free. 

Read the second part of our investigation, looking at the companies and industries drawing the most free groundwater in Malta, here.

This investigation was developed with the support of Journalismfund Europe.