The climate of Maldives is essentially
determined by the monsoons. Throughout the year the climate remains
warm. However, being on the equator, the islands experience mild
monsoons. Of the two monsoons, the southwest monsoon from May to
October, brings some rain and wind. The northeast monsoon, from
November to April, is the dry season with very little wind.
There is little variations in temperature with an annual average
daily maximum of 30.4 degrees Celsius and the minimum at 25.9
degrees Celsius. The annual rainfall can be anywhere between 1500 mm
- 2000mm.
For the tourists the best time to visit the islands is between the
months of December and March.
In a nation with less than one percent land and over 99 percent
sea, the weather obviously plays a significant role in day-to-day
life. For a long time Maldivians have organized their lives based on
a system on nakaiy. Each nakaiy is 13 or 14 days long and is divided
into two seasons; iruvai northest monsoon and hulhangu south west
monsoon. The nakaiy calendar is still used to determine such things
as the best time for fishing, travel or planting crops.
The Maldives has a tropical climate with warm temperatures year
round and a great deal of sunshine. The warm tropical climate
results in relatively minor variations in daily temperature
throughout the year. The hottest month on average is April and the
coolest, December. The weather is determined largely by the
monsoons.
There is a significant variation in the monthly rainfall levels.
February is the driest with January to April being relatively dry,
May and October records the highest average monthly rainfall. The
southwest monsoon or hulhangu from May to September is the wet
season. Rough seas and strong winds are common during this period.
The northeast monsoon iruvai falls between December to April. This
is a period of clear skies, lower humidity and very little rain. The
Maldives is in the equatorial belt and therefore severe storms and
cyclones are extremely rare events. However the country is affected
whenever cyclones form in the Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea. The
spiraling clouds of the weather systems appear over the Maldives
causing spells of rain.
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