Meteorological
Earthquake & Tsunami
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Hazard
Heavy Rain and Flood
50mm in 1hr or 80mm in 6hrs
Thunderstorms
Significant thunderstorm reported and evidence from Satellite/Radar/Lightning Detection Network (LDN)
Wind and Seas
19-24mph (past 3 hrs) or 22 – 27mph (past 1hr), or forecast to meet this condition
Squalls
(Frequent Gusts)
50mph
Swell & Tidal Waves
(Observed or forecasted)
Observed or forecasted (minor impact)
Tropical Cyclone (TC)
Regional Specialized Meteorological Center for TC over North Indian Ocean declare TC center within latitude 5°S - 12°N, longitude 66°E - 81°E box
Earthquake
(Occurred)
Richter magnitude > 6 within 400km of Maldives Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Or, Mag. > 7 in Indian Ocean within 4000km of Maldives EEZ
Tsunami
Magnitude > 8 in Indian Ocean within 4000km of Maldives EEZ. Or confirmation of Indian ocean wide Tsunami of low impact to Maldives
Hazard
Heavy Rain and Flood
70mm in 1hr or 100mm in 6hrs
Thunderstorms
Moderate thunderstorm observed and evidence from Satellite/Radar/Lightning Detection Network
Wind and Seas
25 - 30mph (past 3 hours) or 28 – 35mph (past 1hour), or forecast to meet this condition
Squalls
(Frequent Gusts)
55 mph
Swell and Tidal Waves
(Observed or Forecast)
Observed or forecast (affect at least five islands)
Tropical Cyclone (TC)
TC track towards Maldives and expect to cross Maldives atolls in next 24 hours
Earthquake
Richter magnitude > 7 within 400km of Maldives Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Or, Mag > 8 in Indian Ocean within 4000km of Maldives EEZ
Tsunami
Magnitude > 9 in Indian Ocean within 4000km of Maldives EEZ. Or confirmation of Indian Ocean wide Tsunami of moderate impact to Maldives
Hazard
Heavy Rain and Flood
90mm in 1hr or 120mm in 6hrs
Wind and Seas
34 - 40mph (past 3 hours) or 36 – 42mph (past 1hour), or forecast to meet this condition
Squalls
(Frequent Gusts)
63 mph
Swell and Tidal Waves
(Observed or Forecast)
Observed or forecast (affect at least ten islands)
Tropical Cyclone (TC)
TC track towards Maldives and expect to cross Maldives atolls in next 12 hours
Earthquake
Richter magnitude > 8 within 400km of Maldives Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Or, Mag > 9 in Indian Ocean within 4000km of Maldives EEZ
Tsunami
Confirmation of Indian Ocean wide Tsunami of high impact to Maldives
Hazard
Heavy Rain and Flood
180mm in 6hrs
Wind and Seas
> 40mph (past 3 hours) or > 42mph (past 1hour), or forecast to meet this condition
Squalls
(Frequent Gusts)
70 mph
Swell and Tidal Waves
(Observed or Forecast)
Observed or forecast (extreme impact based)
Tropical Cyclone (TC)
TC track towards Maldives and expect to cross Maldives atolls in next 6hrs
Earthquake
Richter magnitude > 9 within 400km of Maldives Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
Tsunami
Confirmation of Indian Ocean wide Tsunami of extreme impact to Maldives
Maldives is located on the equator and therefore experiences monsoonal climate. There are two distinct seasons, Northeast Monsoon ( dry season) from January to March and Southwest Monsoon (wet season) from mid-May to November. Northeast season days are relatively warmer than the southwest monsoon days. Since Maldives consists of small islands and are surrounded by sea, hot days are often tempered by cooling sea breezes and balmy evening temperatures.
We have Tide prediction chart prepared for 3 regions of Maldives. HDh.Hanimaadhoo Tide chart can be used in northern Maldives. Hulhhule tide chart can be used in central Maldives and Addu City Gan tide chart can be used for southern Maldives. If you need these data, you may request for such data in data request section of this website or send an email to nmc@met.gov.mv.
A mobile Application named “moosun” is designed to provide latest official weather forecast and Alerts to the public. Or, visit our website www.meteorology.gov.mv, or follow our social media : Twitter and Facebook: @MetMaldives. Alternatively, recorded weather forecast update can be obtained by dialing phone number 3317171. TV weather presentation is also aired by TVM, VTV and Dhivehi Channel after 8pm news every night.
Probable Area for Rain Harvest (PARH) is an additional notification message incorporated in the MMS “moosun” mobile App. It shows most probable area, potential for harvesting rain water during next 24 hour. It is to be noted that every island withing the area will not receive equal amounts of rainfall. It is approximated that forecast of about 20-30 millimeters over a larger area is reasonably good amount for harvesting rainfall. Therefore, this notification message will be disseminated if the forecast (NWP models and other supporting products) shows good amount of rainfall to a larger area under consideration.
Heavy rain
The Maldives experiences prolonged rain and showers mainly during the south-west monsoon. However heavy sowers also occur in southern atolls during North-east monsoon as well.
Flood
Some islands are more prone to flooding due to topographical features and soil condition. The main cause of flooding are due to heavy rain and swell surge. Such flooding causes damage to household items and agricultural crops.
Strong wind
Onset of South-west monsoon is normally marked with strong Southwest to Northwesterly winds which last for few days. Strong winds also prevail during North east monsoon mostly in central and northern atolls of Maldives. These strong winds caused uprooting of trees, blowing off the house roofs. In addition, rough seas cause interruption of ferry service between islands and difficulty to the fisherman.
Thunder and Lightning
Due to its geographic location, thunder storms occur throughout the year. Thunderstorms are observed to be more frequent during the month of April. In the south-west monsoon thunder is experienced with rain showers. Thunder storms causes lightning strikes, damaging electrical and electronic items. It also destroys tall trees in the proximity of its strike.
Tidal Waves, Swell Surge
The tidal waves or swell surge is locally referred to as “Udha”. They are almost annually occurring events at varying magnitude to almost in every island. Its impact is high when high swell and wind wavs coincide with the spring tide days. Frequent “Udha” contaminates ground water lens of the island and makes the soil less fertile for agricultural activities. At times in severe events, it also damages vessels at harbor and destroys house hold items as well.
Tropical Cyclone
It is rare that tropical cyclone crossing Maldives area. However, the cyclones forming over Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and Southern Indian Ocean causes formation of intense cloud bands and thus bring heavy rain and strong winds over the country. It also interrupts ferry service and fishing activities due to rough sea condition. Furthermore, the storm surge caused by cyclone causes swell surge to many islands.
After the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the national tsunami warning center (NTWC) was established in Maldives Meteorological Service (MMS). Earthquake data were collected from the US Geological Survey (USGS) and later in 2005 their real time earthquake monitoring system, California Integrated Seismic Network (CISN) was introduced into the NTWC. In 2007, “SeiscomP3” system was added to our real time earthquake monitoring system. Geologically, Maldives is located on the Indian tectonic plate which makes Indian Ocean ring as our main area of concern. There are two main subduction zones in this ring, the plate boundaries near Sumatra, Indonesia and the Makran coast. Large magnitude earthquakes in subduction zones tend to create Tsunamis, hence these areas are given a special importance.
After the 2004 Tsunami, National Meteorological Centre started to develop its early warning system and introduced seismology in to the center. Through the German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) project, a broadband seismometer was installed in Hdh Hanimaadhoo and Gdh Kaadedhhoo. Seismic data collected from these stations are transferred to the main hub in Jakarta, Indonesia via satellite antenna installed at the stations. The stations are solar powered and the VSAT modem is mains powered with backup battery installed. For backup communication, a (Broadband Global Area Network) BGAN is installed in each station.
SeiscomP3 System
SeiscomP3 was installed in Maldives Meteorological Service in early 2008 for the real time earthquake monitoring. The system displays real time seismic waves and is capable of automatically calculating earthquakes within a few minutes.