MET: Weather expected to begin clearing up by long Republic Day holiday

The adverse weather conditions currently persisting over the Maldives is expected to clear up by the long Republic Day holiday which will start later this week, according to the national weather agency.

The Maldives has been experiencing widespread rain since last weekend, resulting in flooding and extensive damage to homes, businesses and key state institutions in several islands.

The Maldives Meteorological Service, in a statement on Saturday, attributed the bad weather to an active Southwest Monsoon, locally known as the Hulhangu Monsoon.

The agency warned that some islands may experience periods of torrential rain with the possibility of localized flooding through Wednesday.

When asked for an update on Sunday, a spokesperson from the weather agency told Sun that widespread rain was expected to persist across the country over the next three days.

Winds are expected to grow stronger over southern and central parts of the country starting Monday.

According to the daily weather forecast for Sunday, fairly widespread rain with occasional heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected over the country over the next 24 hours.

The agency also forecasts northwest/northerly winds at 5-15 miles per hour in northern and central atolls and west/northwesterly winds at 7-17 miles per hour elsewhere.

Winds may gust to 35 miles per hour during showers.

Seas are expected to be slight over northern and central atolls, and moderate becoming rough during showers in the south.

Waves are expected to rise to the height of two to four feet in northern and central regions, and three to six feet in the south.

But the Meteorological Service expects the weather to begin clearing up on Wednesday, just in time for the start of the four-day long Republic Day holiday. Seas are also expected to begin to calm down on Thursday.

The Maldives celebrates is Republic Day on November 11. This year, the day falls on a Wednesday. The day after has also been declared a public holiday, granting government employees a long four-day holiday.