Climate - Marshall Islands

Index

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• Introduction - Enewetak, Majuro
• Cyclones
• Best Time
• What to pack

Introduction

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On the Marshall Islands, an archipelago located in the Pacific between the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer, the climate is tropical, hot all year round, with little variation in temperature. The trade winds blow constantly, tempering the heat.
The islands are divided into two groups, Ralik and Ratak, both stretched from north to south, but the main difference in the climate of the islands lies in the rainfall and depends on latitude: the central and southern islands are rainy all year round, so their climate can be called equatorial, while on the islands lying north of the tenth parallel (Enewetak, Bikini, Rongelap, Taka, Utirik, Taongi), there is a relatively dry season from December to April. In the northern group, annual precipitation is around 1,500 millimeters (60 inches), with a maximum between August and October, when it exceeds 200/250 mm (8/10 in) per month, and a minimum from January to March, when it drops below 40 mm (1.6 in) per month.
During El Niño years, when the rains decrease throughout the islands, these northern atolls, which are already less rainy in normal years, can experience drought.
Moving south, rainfall becomes progressively more abundant, so much so that it can reach 2,500 mm (100 in) per year already in Kwajalein atoll. At this latitude, the rains are still acceptable between January and March, since rainfall drops below 110 mm (4.3 in) per month.

Enewetak

Here are the average temperatures in the northern atoll of Enewetak, located at 11 degrees north latitude. As you can see, even though the temperatures are stable, there is a slightly warmer period from June to October, while December and January are the coolest months.

As mentioned, the northern islands are the least rainy ones and, as mentioned, there is a relatively dry season from December to April. Here is the average precipitation in Enewetak.

Majuro

In the capital, Majuro, located at 7 degrees north latitude, the temperature is definitely stable throughout the year: lows are around 25.5 °C (78 °F), while highs are around 30/30.5 °C (86/87 °F). The temperature rarely drops below 22 °C (72 °F) at night or exceeds 32/33 °C (90/91 °F) during the day. The wind is more constant from December to April, while it is weaker from August to October. Here are the average temperatures.

In the southernmost atolls, the rains are really abundant: in Majuro, 3,300 mm (130 in) of rain fall per year, with a minimum of 180 mm (7 in) in February and a maximum of 360 mm (14 in) in October.
During El Niño periods, rainfall decreases significantly from January to April, and sometimes in May. During this period, only 115 mm (4.5 in) of rain fell in 1983, 70 mm (2.8 in) in 1998 and 195 mm (7.7 in) in 2016.
Here is the average precipitation.

Since the rains occur in the form of short and intense downpour or thunderstorm, and therefore do not last long, the amount of sunshine on the Marshall Islands is at least acceptable even in the wettest months.
Here are the sunshine hours per day in Majuro.



The sea on the Marshall Islands is pleasantly warm all year round, as you can see in the following table.

Tropical cyclones

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The Marshall Islands can be affected by tropical cyclones; in particular, many of the typhoons that later head towards South-east Asia are formed in this area. For this reason, cyclones do not generally affect these islands at the peak of their strength, since they are still in the early stages. Typically, typhoons occur from April to December, although they are more frequent between August and November. However, since the sea is always warm, they can sometimes also occur from January to March, although during this period, only not intense tropical depressions are usually formed.

Best Time

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The best time to visit the Marshall Islands runs from January to March in the central and southern atolls, since it is the least rainy period, even though there is still a fair amount of showers and thunderstorms. On the northern islands, instead, the best period runs from December to April, when the rains are quite rare and generally not abundant.

What to pack

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All year round, bring tropics-friendly, loose-fitting clothing, a sun hat, a scarf for the breeze, a light sweatshirt for the evening, and a light raincoat or umbrella.
When going to the reef, you can bring snorkeling equipment, including water shoes or rubber-soled shoes.

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