Maldives Meteorological Center (MET) confirms the island nation is currently observing its Southwest monsoon, or the "rainy season."
According to the weather office, parts of Southern Maldives started experiencing the Southwest monsoon with heavy rainfall from 9th May, Monday onward.
The MET Office declares start of the Southwest season in the Maldives following "analysis of the weather data from the stations against the criteria" which includes rainfall and wind speeds.
Generally the season kicks off from the Southern parts of the island nation every year.
Furthermore, the office claims that the Southern atolls will experience the rainy reason during the first or second week of May generally every year, which would gradually expand to entire Maldives by the end of the month.
It was confirmed by MET that majority of Southern atolls reported rainfall of 2.5mm or more for two consecutive days.
In addition to this, the office reports "Westerly surface winds" of 10 knots or more for Southern atolls for two consecutive days.
The tropical archipelago experiences just two seasons, due to its geographical position near the Equator.
Maldives experiences its Northeast season, or the sunny season from January until March every year while the wet season runs from May until December while the month of April is considered as a "transitional period."
Meanwhile, MET office reported that the overall humidity was recorded at 40 degrees Celsius on 17th April.
Moreover, the weather office has issued out a white alert until 01:30hrs due to strong gusts and rough seas across parts of the Maldives, while wind speeds in general are expected to pick up speeds at 19 to 24 miles per hour.
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