Heavy rain to batter parts of Maldives this weekend

The Maldives Meteorological Service (MMS) has stated that heavy rain showers are expected to batter some parts of the island nation this weekend.

The department revealed that islands in northern atolls are expected to experience scattered rain showers this weekend.

However, heavy rainfall has been predicted to batter islands in central atolls through Friday and Saturday.

Some islands in southern atolls will experience heavy rainfall as well.

Due to the heavy rainfall affecting several regions of the Maldives, the department has also been issuing a number of white and yellow alerts.

Further, some islands have been experiencing flooding due to the heavy downpour. As such, between 8am Wednesday and 8am Thursday, 86.5 millimeters of rainfall was recorded in Gan island of Seenu atoll, 69.4 millimeters of rainfall was recorded in Hithadhoo district of southernmost Addu City, 52.9 millimeters of rainfall was recorded in Hulhumeedhoo district of southernmost Addu City, and 45.3 millimeters of rainfall was recorded in Kahdhoo island of Laamu atoll.

The heavy rainfall has also affected the capital Malé City, and relevant authorities have appealed on the public to take precautionary measures. The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has also made efforts to drain flood water and place sandbags at the entrances of residential buildings and shops in the past two days.

MMS urged caution from all parties, due to the adverse weather conditions. The department has especially appealed on seafarers to practice caution.

Although tides were recorded as low as 0.3 feet in the early hours of Friday, it escalated to 2.3 by morning and will drop to 2.1 by nightfall in northern atolls. It will remain at 2.1 feet by Saturday’s end.

Central atolls experienced tides as low as 0.2 in the early hours of Friday, rising to 2.2 by morning and declining to 0.8 in the afternoon. It will rise to two by nightfall. Tides in central atolls will rise to two feet by the end of Saturday.

The department revealed that southern atolls will experience tides rising from 0.2 to 2.4 by the end of Friday and dropping to -0.1 feet by early Saturday and rising to 0.8 by sundown on Saturday.

Maldives experiences heavy rain showers and adverse weather conditions during the southwest monsoon as well as the northeast monsoon. Extensive periods of strong winds and adverse weather conditions are usually experienced mostly during the southwest monsoon.

The weather department announced the beginning of the southwest monsoon of 2025 in the southern region on May 7. Maldives experiences two distinct seasons: the southwest monsoon, typically running from May to November and the northeast monsoon, which usually lasts from January through March. MMS revealed that the impact of the southwest monsoon is initially felt in the southern regions around the first or second week of May, spreading to the central regions and eventually encompassing the entire country the end of the month. According to the department, southern atolls have been reporting a rainfall greater than 2.5 millimeters after May 1 and southwest to westerly wind prevails and surface wind speeds have been recorded greater than 10 knots.

Such adverse weather conditions have caused trees to uproot, roofs to be torn off, and heavy debris falling onto houses, causing immense damage. The squally weather during monsoon also causes extensive damage to crop in some islands and presents challenges for seafarers and fishermen as well. Some islands have been experiencing swell wave surges during high tides as well.