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Sunday 11 Jan 2026
LOCAL EDITION
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LOCAL EDITION
Haze blankets over Male' area: Met Office reports that haze will be the worst for northern atolls on Sunday, while danger from the air pollution has receded. (Sun Photo/Ahmed Iyad)
The Maldives Meteorological Service has forecast a slight improvement in haze conditions from Sunday afternoon through Wednesday, though the dry‑season haze is not expected to clear completely.
A Met official told Sun on Saturday that visibility and air quality will continue to fluctuate during the Iruvai season.
“The forecast shows that the haze will not clear entirely because of the dry weather. However, conditions are expected to improve a little from Sunday afternoon,” the official said, noting that visibility has been “slowly improving” since Friday.
Visibility in the Male' area dropped to two kilometres on Saturday. The Met reiterated that haze typically persists throughout the northeast monsoon.
Earlier, the Met had predicted clearer skies around New Year’s Day, with expectations that conditions would improve from January 1.
Saturday’s forecast was issued as worsening air pollution and reduced visibility forced changes to aircraft operations. Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) said Special Visual Flight Rules (SVFR) were activated on Saturday due to the haze.
In a statement, MACL said visibility‑related measures are taken whenever air pollution or heavy rain reduces safe flying conditions.
The company temporarily suspended Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and instructed pilots to operate under SVFR, which applies when visibility falls below five kilometres.
Haze has significantly reduced distance visibility across the capital region.
Air Quality Index (AQI) in Male' reached 84 on Saturday, according to IQAir.
PM2.5 concentration stood at 27 micrograms per cubic metre, 5.4 times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline.
PM2.5 refers to fine particulate matter, tiny particles of dust, haze, and chemical pollutants that can enter the respiratory system.
Last Wednesday saw some of the worst haze levels reported across multiple atolls.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has forecast haze from Thursday through Monday.
According to HPA, the highest pollution levels were recorded in Villimale' and Dhaalu Atoll, where readings reached red‑alert levels, a category in which everyone is at risk of adverse health effects, including serious lung and heart complications.
