Due to the Southwest Monsoon (Hulhangu) slowly coming into full force, the Maldives Meteorological Office (MET) has stated that Maldives will experience rough seas tonight and tomorrow.

The MET office released a weather advisory stating that due to the monsoon settling in, a large portion of the northern and central area of Maldives has experienced rainfall, with some islands experiencing heavy rainfall.

AA. Thoddoo experienced the most amount of rainfall in the last 24 hours, with 144 millimeters of rain.

The MET office stated that due to the rain, wind speeds will pick up especially within northern and central Maldives tonight and tomorrow, along with very rough seas. The office also estimates that there will be occasional heavy showers and thunderstorms.

With Eid approaching and the public holiday beginning on Sunday, many people are expected to travel to other islands across the Maldives. 

The MET office has requested travelers to check the latest weather forecasts before traveling as the seas may get rough.

Due to strong winds and rough seas in central Maldives, the Maldives Meteorological Office (MET) has extended the Yellow Alert that was issued earlier this morning to 3:00pm.

According to the Maldives Nakaiy-Monsoon calendar, today is the fourth Nakaiy in the Southwest Monsoon (Hulhangu), "Roanu". This time period is where where rainfall in June and July begins. Winds pick and ocean currents become stronger during the Southwest Monsoon.

According to the MET offices standard procedure, the Southwest Monsoon in the southern atolls of Maldives began on 8th May. When the Southwest Monsoon begins, wind speeds tend to pick up, seas become more rough and rainfall occurs from time to time all over Maldives.

The effects of the monsoon usually start in the first or second week of May in the southern atolls. It then reaches central Maldives, with the entire nation experiencing the monsoon before May ends.

Last year, Maldives as a whole began experiencing the Southwest Monsoon on 26th May.