Maldives Weather and Climate

Geographical location

1196 islands in the vastness of the Indian Ocean belong to the national territory of the Maldives, around 90 of which are used by luxury resorts for tourist purposes.

According to COUNTRYAAH, the Maldives are located southwest of India and Sri Lanka and have been an independent state since 1965. A total of 26 island atolls are spread over an area of ​​around 870 kilometers, all of which are only one to two meters above sea level.

You read correctly: The highest point in the Maldives measures an incredible 2.41 meters and is located on the island nation’s southernmost atoll. Basically, the Maldives can be divided into around 220 so-called Local Islands, on which the “real life” of the locals takes place, as well as the resort islands for vacationers from all over the world.

The only city in the Maldives, Malé, is located on the main island of the same name, Malé and, in addition to the international airport, is also home to residential buildings for over 150,000 Maldivians. With an area of ​​only around 5.8 km², Malé is therefore the most densely populated city in the world.

From here, holidaymakers can usually take a speedboat or seaplane to island paradises such as Asdu, Baros, Hinnavaru, Rasdhoo, Mahibadhoo, Bandos Island or Gili Lankanfushi. Among the romantic travel destinations in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives are on the popularity scale, especially for couples and honeymooners, mostly ahead of islands such as the Seychelles, Mauritius and La Réunion.

• Abbreviation Finder: Check to see national geography, brief history, society description, domestic politics, economy overview, and a list of widely used acronyms about Maldives.

Climate in the Maldives

The islands of the Maldives are very well protected by the offshore coral reefs in the Indian Ocean and are therefore only very rarely affected by the forces of nature. The Indian Ocean is comparatively very calm over the course of the year, the weather is constantly warm and the climate can be described as typically tropical.

This means only slight differences in night and day temperatures, no real seasons and quite high humidity 365 days a year. The Maldives climate is mainly determined by the winds: from November to April the so-called northeast monsoon blows, from May to October, the southwest monsoon. Basically, the northeast monsoon ensures warm weather, many hours of sunshine and very little rainfall.

In the period from the beginning to the end of May, the Maldives rainy season begins with the change of monsoons with partly heavy rain showers and partly cloudy skies. The statistics and climate data of the last few years show that the months of June and July have the most rainy days, while September has the heaviest rainfall with the greatest amount of rain.

When is the best time to visit the Maldives?

In view of the rainy season in the Maldives from around mid-May to October, the summer in the Maldives is considered to be an absolute low season. If you are looking for cheap offers and can live with the weather risk, you could also find your luck at this travel time. The transition months of November and December are climatically more stable, but rain is still to be expected. Basically, however, the Christmas season is a popular travel period, as the weather is definitely a bliss compared to the cold gray Europe.

As the absolutely best travel time for the Maldives, however, we recommend January, February, March and April. This is even more true if it is your first Maldives vacation or even a special event like your honeymoon / honeymoon is coming up. The least rain during the year falls between January and March, the daytime temperatures are between 30 and 31 degrees. The tropical Indian Ocean is warm enough for bathing all year round with water temperatures of constant 27 to 29 ° C.

Temperatures, precipitation, sunshine in Malé (Maldives)

	Jan	Feb	March	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Daytime temperature	30 ° C	30 ° C	31 ° C	32 ° C	31 ° C	31 ° C	30 ° C	30 ° C	30 ° C	30 ° C	30 ° C	30 ° C
Night temperature	25 ° C	26 ° C	26 ° C	26 ° C	26 ° C	26 ° C	26 ° C	26 ° C	25 ° C	25 ° C	25 ° C	25 ° C
Water temperature	27 ° C	27 ° C	28 ° C	29 ° C	29 ° C	28 ° C	28 ° C	27 ° C	27 ° C	28 ° C	28 ° C	27 ° C
Precipitation in mm	75	50	73	132	216	172	147	188	243	222	201	232
Hours of sunshine	8	9	9	8	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	7
Sunrise	6:20	6:20	6:10	6:00	5:55	5:55	6:00	6:05	5:55	5:50	5:55	6:05
Sunset	18:10	18:20	18:20	18:10	18:10	18:15	18:20	18:20	18:05	17:50	17:50	17:55

Temperatures

The annual average temperature in Male is 28 ° C. For comparison: Munich reaches an average of 8.6 ° C, in Berlin it is 9.6 ° C. The warmest month is April (28.9 ° C), coldest month of December with averages of 27.5 ° C. The maximum water temperature in Male is 29 ° C. Comfortable bathing is possible at these temperatures. All months have a water temperature of at least 21 ° C and are therefore suitable for a beach holiday.

Precipitation

The annual precipitation is 1951 mm. For comparison: In Munich, 967 mm, in Berlin 570 mm, precipitation is measured annually. The months of May, August, September, October, November and December are considered the rainy season, as more than 175 mm of precipitation can be expected per month. Overall, about 1302 mm of precipitation can be expected in the rainy season. You cannot expect snow in any month in Malé.

Sunshine

As our climate table shows, February is the sunniest month with an average of 9.1 hours of sunshine per day. The average annual sun shines 7.6 hours per day. For comparison: In Munich and Berlin, the sun shines an average of 4.7 hours per day throughout the year.