The Maldives has a tropical climate with warm temperatures year round and a great deal of sunshine. During a 24-year period between 1967 - 1990, the hottest month on average was April, with a maximum monthly mean temperature of 31.5 Degree Celsius and a minimum of 26 Degree Celsius. The coolest month was December, with a maximum monthly mean temperature of 29.8 Degree Celsius and a minimum of 25.3 Degree Celsius.

There is considerable variation in climate between the northern and southern Atolls in the Maldives. In the south the rainfall is greater but so are the number if rainy days. Shower are not as heavy as in the North. There are greater extremes of temperature in the North also, as the seasons are more evident further away from the equator.

The weather is determined to a large extent by the monsoon circulation. Each year there are 2 monsoon seasons, the North-East monsoon "iruvai" and the South-West monsoon "hulhangu". The prevailing winds, which can become quite strong, are from the SW-W-NW during the South-West monsoon and N-NE-E during the North-East monsoon.

The North-East monsoon brings the direct period, the air having a comparatively short sea track compared with that during the remainder of the year. There is generally little cloud except in the south. The relative humidity at this time is only 5% lower than during the South-West monsoon, but this lowering is enough to make a considerable difference to comfort.

The hot season is in March and April. Frequent light winds from the North East and variable sea breezes are experienced than at any other time of the year. The transitional period between monsoons begins in April and by the end of May the winds are predominantly W-SW. a fortnight of strong winds and rain usually ushers in the change of seasons. Occasionally the tail end of cyclones from the Bay of Bengal are felt during this period.

The wet seasons is from June to September when the South-West monsoon is firmly set. Gales and moderate to rough seas are common during this season. Cloudy days are more frequent.

November is again a transitional period. During October, days of light winds are experienced more frequently and by the end of November, winds have shifted from W-NW to N-NE. The efforts of cyclones from the Arabian sea can be experienced during this period. The first month of the North-East monsoon, December, is typically rough with strong winds and rain. The monsoon gradually travels down the Maldives from the North is ushered in by a fortnight of very strong winds from the North-East with heavy rain squalls.

Because the Maldives is in the Equatorial belt, severe tropical storms and cyclones are extremely rare events. But whenever cyclones from the Bay of Bengal or Arabian Sea, the spiraling feeder band clouds appear over the Maldives and cause spells of rain and showers. The weather in the North may deteriorate considerably as a result, but there is little effect on the southern islands as it is almost impossible for low pressure areas to develop within 5 Degree of the Equator.

There are some useful guidelines to predicting the weather. There is not a lot of variation in relative humidity but it is 85% or above, there is a strong chance of rain or showers. If it is between 80% - 85% there is a chance of a change in weather to wet. If it is 90% or above there will be rain and storms. When below 80% the general weather will be mainly fine.

If the barometer drops to 1005 or 1004 (mean reading usually 1009) then bad whether is likely to occur at any time. If the barometer drops to 1003 actual, the lowest limit, gale force winds, heavy rain with thunder storms and rough seas will result. In some situations there may not be pressure for a change in whether to occur. This could be due to a tail cloud band of tropical cyclone originating in the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea or South Indian Ocean, or due to excessive heating over the Equator, where large convective clouds can develop bringing heavy showers with gusty winds. In these situations the pressure can be as high as 1012.

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