🇲🇻Maldives

The Maldives spans 7°06′N–0°41′S as an Indian Ocean archipelago nation comprising 26 atolls and roughly 1,190 coral islands totalling only 298 km² of land scattered across approximately 90,000 km² of ocean southwest of India. The country is the world's lowest-lying — average ground level just 1.5 m above sea level, the highest natural point at Vilingili reaches a mere 5.1 m, and over 80% of the islands lie below 1 m.

It comprises distinct atoll groups stretched north–south across the equator (North and South Malé, Ari, Lhaviyani, Addu). The climate is uniformly tropical monsoon — tropical rainforest (Af) on the central and southern atolls with year-round rainfall and tropical monsoon (Am) tendency on the wetter southwest-monsoon-exposed atolls — modulated by the southwest monsoon (May–September, Hulhangu) and the northeast monsoon (December–March, Iruvai) with very warm tropical sea-surface temperatures year-round.

Malé averages 27°C in January and 28°C in May with 1,920 mm rainfall fairly evenly distributed but peaking with the southwest monsoon. Hulhulé airport registers 27°C in January and 28°C in May with 2,030 mm. Gan in the southern Addu Atoll (across the equator) records 27°C in January and 28°C in May with 2,300 mm. The wettest northern Maamigili and Lhaviyani atolls receive 2,200 mm.

Sea-surface temperatures stay 28–30°C year-round and have been rising rapidly. Major events include the severe 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami (108 deaths in Maldives, two-thirds of national GDP wiped out), the severe 2016 mass coral bleaching event killing over 60% of corals across the atolls, the 1998 super El Niño bleaching, recurrent severe king-tide flooding (the April 1987 floods first prompted serious sea-level adaptation policy), accelerating sea-level rise (approximately 3.4 mm per year) threatening the very existence of the nation, the November 2024 record-warm sea-surface temperature events, severe Indian Ocean Dipole-driven rainfall variability, and growing tourism-sector vulnerability (Maldives derives 30% of GDP from beach tourism).

Our archive covers 1 Maldivian cities with daily ERA5 reanalysis data going back to 1940. The warmest July averages occur in Male, around 27.8°C, while Male records the coldest January nights near 25.8°C. Comparing the last decade against the 1940–1970 baseline, mean temperatures across these cities have risen by about 0.9°C.4 mm/year) threatening the very existence of the nation, and growing tourism-sector vulnerability.