WHAT IS THE WEATHER LIKE IN THE MALDIVES?

This must be one of the most common questions we receive and one that no doubt the answer that those asking are looking for is ‘hot and sunny’!

However, like many places in the world today, the climate and weather pattern is changing and historical data is less reliable as an indication of what to expect in the here and now.

Given the fact that the Maldives is spread over 800km north to south, weather conditions will often be very different across each atoll and the weather information provided for Male and the capital area should not be taken as an indication of the weather throughout this island paradise.

In fact you could be on one island in glorious sunshine watching it rain on a neighbouring island.

With a tropical climate, plenty of sunshine and average temperatures around 30°C throughout the year, there is never a bad time to visit the Maldives. There can be heavy rain showers pretty much any time of year, but they tend to be short and cannot be accurately predicted seasonally. In other words – don’t worry too much about them – you will quite possibly experience some rain showers, but the majority of the time the weather should be great, with sunshine and blue skies.

The Maldives has two distinct seasons; dry season (northeast monsoon) from January to March and the wet season (southwest monsoon) from mid-May to November. By wet think higher levels of rainfall as opposed to rain every day morning til night. It is also more common during the change from one monsoon to the other that we experience far more unsettled weather conditions, this does not mean you will not experience any sunshine, just that it is far more likely to experience stronger winds and some rainfall.

Whilst in the modern world we may turn to Google or apps such as Moosun to check out the weather conditions, in years gone by Maldivians referred to The Nakaiy Calendar to determine the best time to fish, travel or cultivate crops. This calendar is certainly still referred to today by fishermen and islanders.

We have also included quotes from previous guests as to how they found the weather during their stay over various times of year.

The Maldivian Nakaiy Calendar

MULA – strong winds & rough seas
Dec. 23 – Jan. 05

FURAHALHA – strong north-easterly winds & rough seas
Jan. 06 – Jan. 18

UTHURAHALHA – clear blue skies, strong winds & rough seas
Jan. 19 – Jan. 31

HUVAN – calm seas & blue skies
Feb. 01 – Feb. 13

”We went first 2 weeks in February and experienced one amazing thunderstorm in the evening and wall to wall sunshine!”

DHINASHA – north-easterly winds, moderate seas & plenty of sunshine
Feb. 14 – Feb. 26

HIYAVIHA – seas are calm, days & nights are hot
Feb. 27 – Mar. 11

FURABADHURUVA – frequent,short,sharp bursts of thunder and lightning
Mar. 12 – Mar. 25

FUSBADHURUVA – usually clear blue skies
Mar. 26 – Apr. 07

”The first time we went I worried myself silly watching the weather and we hardly saw rain at all. I wasted too many hours of my life worrying. In all our 10 visits we only had rain once that was just over a day.”

REYVA – if storms occur they may be severe
Apr. 08 – Apr. 21

ASSIDHA -begins with storms, then becomes hot and dry
Apr. 22 – May 05

BURUNDI – begins with storms and strong winds, then becomes calm
May 06 – May 19

KETHI – dark clouds & frequent rain
May 20 – Jun. 02

”I went in June twice. Had some rain but it is always refreshing when it’s so hot.”

ROANU – storms, strong winds & rough seas
Jun. 03 – Jun. 16

MIYAHELIA- storms, rough seas and strong westerly winds
Jun. 17 – Jun. 30

ADHA -south-westerly winds and light rain
Jul. 01 – Jul. 14

FUNOAS – storms, rough seas, frequent and sudden gales
Jul. 15 – Jul. 28

”We arrived the 11th July and had 8 days of full sun, 2 early morning storms, then hazy, I day high cloud/hazy and the rest virtually clear skies!”

FUS – wet and overcast
Jul. 29 – Aug. 10

AHULIA – less frequent storms, calmer days
Aug. 11 – Aug. 23

MAA- generally calm
Aug. 24 – Sep. 06

FURA – isolated showers, usually dry with light north-westerly winds
Sep. 07 – Sep. 20

”We stayed for 2 weeks in August/September which is the wet season and we didn’t see much rain at all, maybe 2 days where it rained for a few hours but it cleared up very quickly. Even when it does rain there is still so much to do. Pools and the sea are still very much fun in the rain! There is generally more cloud but also plenty of blue skies, and even when it’s cloudy it’s still very hot! 

UTHURA – strong north-westerly winds
Sep. 21 – Oct. 03

ATHA – generally clear and calm with isolated showers
Oct. 04 – Oct. 17

HITHA – light winds & isolated showers
Oct. 18 – Oct. 30

HEY -strong winds from all directions
Nov. 01 – Nov. 13

”We were in the Maldives  5th-19th October for our fifth visit at this time of year. This was the first year with rain. We had a few overcast days and a couple of  afternoons with rain , but only 1 full day of rain. Lots of rain though over night. But we still had plenty of sunshine!”

VIHA – calm days
Nov. 14 – Nov. 26

NORA – light winds & some sun and showers
Nov. 27 – Dec. 09

DOSHA – light north-easterly winds
Dec. 10 – Dec. 22

However, regardless of when you travel if you are travelling with Secret Paradise you can be assured of a holiday experience of a lifetime!