HULHULE-MALE’ BRIDGE PROJECT

EIA for the proposed Hulhule-Male’ Bridge Project
Figure 4.3: Mean Daily Wind Speed and Direction Recorded at National Meteorological Centre (1978 – 2004)
The Disaster Risk Profile of Maldives (UNDP, 2006) reports 11 cyclonic events over the
Maldives in the last 128 years and only one event over the central Maldives. All of these events
were of category 1 cyclones. There have been no cyclonic events since 1993.
4.1.3 Rainfall
The average annual rainfall for the archipelago is 2,124mm. There are regional variations in
average annual rainfall: southern atolls receive approximately 2,280 mm and northern atolls
receive approximately 1,790 mm annually (MEC, 2004). Mean monthly rainfall also varies
substantially throughout the year with the dry season getting considerably less rainfall. This
pattern is less prominent in the southern half, however. The proportions of flood and drought
years are relatively small throughout the archipelago, and the southern half is less prone to
drought (UNDP, 2006).
The mean annual rainfall in Hulhule’ is 1991.5 mm with a Standard Deviation of 316.4 mm and
the mean monthly rainfall is 191.6 mm. Rainfall varies throughout the year with mean highest
rainfall during October, December and May and lowest between February and April (See Figure
4.4).
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