Geography of the Maldives

The Maldives is a beautiful island country located in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India. It is the smallest country in Asia, with a total land size of just 298 km² (115 mi²). The country is made up of about 1,190 coral islands that are grouped into 26 atolls, spread out over a very large area of about 90,000 square kilometers.

These islands sit on top of a long submarine ridge that rises up from the deep ocean. Most of the islands are made from coral reefs and sand bars. Only a few places near the south end of this ridge allow ships to safely pass through from one side of the Indian Ocean to the other.

The government of the Maldives organizes the islands into twenty-one administrative divisions to help manage the country. The largest island is Gan, which is part of Laamu Atoll. In Addu Atoll, some islands are connected by roads that stretch for 14 km (8.7 mi). The Maldives also has a very large exclusive economic zone of 923,322 km² (356,497 mi²), which is the area around the country where it can control fishing and other activities.

Physical geography

See also: List of islands of the Maldives

The Maldives is made up of many small islands grouped into rings called atolls. Most of these islands are very tiny, usually only about one to two square kilometres big, and they sit just a little above the sea level. Even the biggest atolls stretch about 50 kilometres long and 30 kilometres wide, but no single island is longer than eight kilometres.

The islands don’t have hills, but some have small sand mounds that rise up to about 2.4 metres above sea level. Because the islands are so small, they don’t have rivers, though some have little lakes and marshes. The plants on the islands differ depending on whether people live there or not. Places where people live often have small groves of banana, papaya, and citrus trees, along with breadfruit and coconut palms. Islands without people usually have bushes, mangroves, and a few coconut trees. Some islands are wet and marshy, while others are higher because sand and gravel have been piled up by the waves.

Only about ten percent of the land is used for growing food like taro, bananas, and coconuts. Fresh water on the islands sits above seawater in a layer called a "Ghyben-Herzberg lens," but this fresh water is getting smaller, especially on islands with many visitors.

Climate

The Maldives has warm weather all year, with temperatures between 24 and 33 °C (75.2 and 91.4 °F). Even at night, it rarely gets cooler than 25 °C (77 °F). The country has two main seasons: a dry season and a rainy season. The dry season happens during the winter, while the rainy season comes in the summer.

Because the Maldives is very low-lying, with its highest point being less than 8 feet above sea level, the weather stays warm. Rain amounts differ across the country, with the north getting about 2,540 millimetres (100 in) of rain each year and the south receiving around 3,810 millimetres (150 in). The weather in the Maldives is influenced by nearby landmasses and wind patterns, which bring moist air from the Indian Ocean. During the rainy season, strong winds and storms can cause damage, as happened in May 1991 when monsoon winds created tidal waves that affected many homes and lands.

Climate change

Area and boundaries

The Maldives is a very small country with a total area of 298 square kilometres, all of which is land. It has no bodies of water within its borders. The country’s coastline stretches for 644 kilometres.

The Maldives claims a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles from its islands, a contiguous zone of 24 nautical miles, and an exclusive economic zone covering over 923,000 square kilometres. The lowest point in the country is at sea level, while the highest point is just 2.4 metres above sea level on Vilingili Island in the Addu Atoll, making it the lowest high point of any country in the world.

Resources and land use

The Maldives has natural resources such as fish. When looking at how the land is used, about 10% is used for farming, another 10% for permanent crops, and the rest, which is 80%, is used for other purposes. There is no irrigated land, and the country has very little renewable water, only about 0.03 cubic kilometers.

Environmental concerns

The Maldives face serious environmental challenges. Because the islands are very low, they are highly sensitive to rising sea levels, which could make parts of the country flooded or even uninhabitable in the future. Leaders are working to protect the nation by reducing harmful emissions and aiming to become a nation that does not add to climate change.

Current issues include water supply problems, effects from global warming, and damage to important coral reefs. The Maldives are part of many international efforts to protect nature and fight climate change, including agreements on Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, and protecting the ozone layer.

Statistics

The Maldives is located between latitude and longitude, just west of India and Sri Lanka. It stretches about 750 km from north to south and 120 km from west to east.

The country has around 1,196 islands, most of which are empty, covering a total area of about 298 km². These islands are very close to the ocean, with an average height of only 1.8 m above sea level. The nearest land is India, about 340 km away, and Sri Lanka, about 700 km away.

Nearest nation

The Maldives is closest to India, specifically near a group of islands called the Laccadives.