Climate

Maldives is located at the equator and experiences a monsoonal climate. Traditionally, two climate seasons include Southwest Monsoon from May to November, which is the wettest season and Northeast monsoon, which is the dry season from January to March. In these two seasons the temperature varies hardly. Since the Maldives consists of small islands and is surrounded by the sea, hot days are often tempered by cooling sea breezes and balmy evening temperatures. Throughout the year, temperature remains almost same in the Maldives. However, daily temperature ranges from around 31 degrees Celsius in daytime to 23 degrees Celsius in nighttime. The wet season- southwest monsoon runs from mid-May to November. In this season Maldives experiences torrential rain.

The climate is important as it directly affects the safety, livelihoods, life of the society and the environment. The Maldives is remote, small, coral islands with limited means where the resilience to climate is limited. The principal sectors of livelihood, tourism, food supply such as fisheries, agriculture and water resources are affected by climate. When we talk of climate, we should understand:

Weather, Climatology,  Climate Change, Climate Variability and Climate Extremes  

• Weather is the current or ongoing state of the atmosphere and is generally predictable up to 10 days in advance.
• Climatology is the long-term average of the weather over many years
• Climate Change is the long-term change in the average state of the climate. It can be predicted, but such predictions are theoretical
• Climate Variability comprises the departures from the average state of the climate due to shifts in ocean or land conditions. It may be predictable up to one year in advance.
• Climate Extremes refers to events which are well outside the normal range of variation