Guests aboard the Black Pearl liveaboard spot grey reef sharks and eagle rays at Guraidhoo Kandu

With the beginning of the North East Monsoon transition period, manta rays are becoming less frequent at the Lankan Manta Point cleaning station.

The Lankan Manta Point (of the North Male’ Atoll) manta ray season begins in early September and lasts until late November or early December.

Manta Ray at Manta Point in the Maldives

Lankan Manta Point Dive

Black Pearl liveaboard dived at Lankan Manta Point for the first time this week. However, no manta rays were spotted, so the divers enjoyed the colorful Maldivian coral and selection of other reef fish that darted along the sandy ocean floor. Read about the Black Pearl’s sighting of a school of mobula rays!

Black Pearl liveaboard plans to cover South Male’ and Ari Atoll this week.

Kuda Giri Wreck and Guraidhoo Kandu Dive

After the dive at Lankan Manta Point, the Black Pearl liveaboard crossed Vaadhoo channel and arrived at the Kuda Giri Wreck for the day’s second dive. The day’s third dive took place at Guraidhoo Kandu.

With an incoming mild current, all divers saw 8 grey reef sharks, a school of 12 eagle rays and loads of white tip reef sharks.

Black Pearl live aboard will be sailing to South Ari Atoll today.

A new diving season has arrive in the Maldives…

For more information on diving holidays, visit Maldives Dive Travel now!

The Maldives, an island nation located in the Indian Ocean and comprised of over 1000 atolls, features some of the world’s best scuba diving sites…

Maldives Diving Season

Iruvai, the North-East Monsoon, brings with her the Maldivian dry season, ushering in a distinct diving season.

Maldives Weather

The Indian Ocean has a great effect on the climate in Maldives by acting as a heat buffer; absorbing, storing, and slowly releasing the tropical heat. The temperature of the Maldives ranges between 24°C and 33°C throughout the year. Although the humidity is relatively high, the constant cool sea breezes keep the air moving and the heat mitigated.

The weather in the Maldives is affected by the large landmass of South Asia to the north. The presence of this landmass causes differential heating of land and water. These factors set off a rush of moisture-rich air from the Indian Ocean over South Asia, resulting in the southwest monsoon.

Two seasons dominate Maldives’ weather: The dry season, associated with the winter northeast monsoon “IRUVAI,” and the rainy season, brought by the summer southwest monsoon “HULHANGU.”

According to the traditional Maldivian calendar, the IRUVAI begins in December with typically strong, unsettled winds and rough seas that gradually travel down the Maldives from the north. It is divided into nine “Nakaiy,” or periods, with the last “Nakaiy” finishing in April. The “Iruvai” brings the driest weather period to the Maldives, where the air possesses a comparatively short sea track compared with that during the remainder of the year.

Diver hooked on the reef using a current hook

Currents in the Maldives

The exposure of the Maldives to the vast Indian Ocean ensures that an immense body of water is constantly flowing across the plateau on which these atolls are built. Oceanic currents are largely influenced by the direction of the trade winds. They flow from the NE to SW during the Iruvai and from SW to NE during the Hulhangu. They are of great strength, where currents in the channels near Male’ have been recorded at four knots or more.

Tidal currents flow according to the height of the tide and the direction of the prevailing winds, and are said to be much weaker than oceanic currents, though they causes velocity variations in the flow. At the atoll passages, current streams can be quite irregular due to the islands, reefs and sandy shoals.

Best Time to Dive in the Maldives

The North-East Monsoon is considered the best period to dive in the Maldives, as a result of continuous flowing of water into the atolls, especially the channels the feature clear water and lots of food for the pelagic creatures, such as the gray reef shark and the whale shark.

Due to the continuous flow of the North-East Monsoon current, the visibility becomes crystal clear, which is why this is one of the best times to go scuba diving in the Maldives.

Felidhu Atoll

The Felidhu Atoll, within the range of liveaboard diving, is often visited during the North-East Monsoon due to the high possibility of spotting some larger marine life.

Almost all the dive sites are channels in local “Kandu” based dives. The incoming current attracts lager fish and channel crossing has become a common way of performing dives in these channels. The entrances of the channels are at a depth of 28 to 30 meters and the width of these channel are no more than 150 meters.

Gray Reef Shark

Maldives Fish Life

Due to the North-East Monsoon‘s currents, the channels’ entrances are attractive to bigger fish, such as gray reef sharks, white tip reef sharks, schooling silver jack fish, tuna, schools of eagle ray and many more.

Early morning dives to hammerhead shark point “Fotteyo Kandu” is also a highlight during this season. Hammerheads are not only seen during the early morning hours here, but have also been seen by divers during the day.

Channels like Miyaru Kandu, Devana Kandu, Diggiri Kandu and Alimatha Dekunu Kandu are also well known among the liveaboards.

In addition to Felidu Atoll, other atolls, North and South Male’, Ari atoll, Meenu atoll and Baa atoll are also considered to be excellent diving sites during the North-East Monsoon.

If you are booked for a diving holiday this season, I strongly recommend that all the divers possess a current hook, have your scuba gear tuned up and get ready for a new season of diving in the Maldives!

For more information on diving holidays, visit Maldives Dive Travel now!

Weather in the Majestic Maldives

Weather in the Maldives is one of the many reasons that tourists flock in droves (over 600,000 per year) to this magical land of atolls and islets.

Often referred to as “The Pearls of the Indian Ocean,” the Maldives features beautiful lagoons, amazing coral reefs, marvelous marine life and warm, tropical weather that seems to give you a big bear hug as you descend the plane.

Weather in Maldives: Tropical Climate

Maldives Weather is typical of a tropical climate, meaning that the weather is warm to hot, humid and moist all year round with little variation. The average temperature in the Maldives is approximately 29 to 32 degrees Celsius, or 84 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Although the humidity is relatively high, the air rarely feels thick and too hot due to the constant sea breezes.

The Maldives is located in the Equatorial belt, so severe tropical storms and cyclones are extremely rare events.

The hottest month on average is April and the coolest is December. The weather is determined largely by the two monsoons: Iruvai, the north-east monsoon and Hulha’ngu, the south-west monsoon.

Weather in Maldives: Iruvai, the North-East Monsoon

Iruvai, the north-east monsoon, greatly effects the weather in the Maldives. The north-east monsoon arrives in November, characterized by strong winds and heavy rainfall lasting for about a week. Iruvai travels from north to south, eventually setting in January.

The north-east monsoon makes the weather in the north and mid atolls distinct from that of the southern atolls. The north and mid atolls experience clear skies, sunshine and calm seas for most of the period. Scuba diving is fantastic during this period. The visibility is excellent on the eastern side of the atolls and the water is warm, averaging around 28 degrees.

Conversely, the southern atolls receive a large amount of rainfall and experience rough seas during the early stages of the north-east monsoon. However, the sea becomes more calm and hot, dry periods prevail until the arrival of Hulha’ngu, the south-west monsoon.

Weather in Maldives: Hulha’ngu, the South-West Monsoon

Hulha’gnu, the south-west monsoon, sets in from May and lasts until November, bringing forth heavy rains, strong winds and occasional thunderstorms. This monsoon affects the weather in Maldives by making the seas rough.

During the south-west monsoon, most divers choose to scuba dive around the western side of the Maldives.  Currents at this time of year are reversed, flowing from southwest to northeast.

Weather in Maldives: Dry Season

The shift from the moist south-west monsoon to the dry north-east monsoon occurs during October and November. The dry season in the Maldives lasts until April.

Weather in Maldives: Rainy Season

Brought by the summer southwest monsoon, the rainy season in the Maldives lasts from May to August each year. Generally, the annual rainfall averages 2,540 millimeters in the north and 3,810 millimeters in the south. Even during the rainy season, the temperature rarely falls below 25°C (77°F).

Despite the rain, weather in the Maldives is pleasant all year round!