Climate - Marshall Islands

The climate in detail

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• North - Enewetak
• Center-South - Majuro
• Cyclones
• When to go
• What to pack

North

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On the northernmost islands of both groups, which lie north of the tenth parallel (Enewetak, Bikini, Rongelap, Taka, Utirik, Taongi), as mentioned, there is a relatively dry season from December to April. Annual rainfall is around 1,500 millimeters (60 inches), with a maximum between July 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.

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.

Enewetak - Average temperatures

Month	Min (°C)	Max (°C)	Mean (°C)	Min (°F)	Max (°F)	Mean (°F)
January	23.8	29.4	26.6	75	85	79.9
February	24.4	29.5	27	76	85	80.5
March	24.3	30.1	27.2	76	86	81
April	24.6	30.1	27.4	76	86	81.2
May	25.3	30.3	27.8	78	87	82
June	25.6	30.6	28.1	78	87	82.6
July	25.3	30.3	27.8	78	87	82
August	25	30.7	27.8	77	87	82.1
September	25.4	30.8	28.1	78	87	82.6
October	25.4	30.7	28	78	87	82.5
November	24.6	30.3	27.4	76	87	81.4
December	23.8	29.4	26.6	75	85	79.9
Year	24.8	30.2	27.45	76.6	86.3	81.5

Here is the average precipitation in Enewetak.

Enewetak - Average precipitation

Month	Millimeters	Inches	Days
January	30	1.2	13
February	25	1	10
March	40	1.6	12
April	55	2.2	13
May	115	4.5	17
June	105	4.1	18
July	185	7.3	22
August	195	7.7	21
September	200	7.9	21
October	250	9.8	22
November	155	6.1	20
December	65	2.6	16
Year	1410	55.5	205

Center-South

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As mentioned, the central and southern islands, closer to the equator, are rainy all year round, so their climate can be called equatorial.
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.

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.

Majuro - Average temperatures (1991-2020)

Month	Min (°C)	Max (°C)	Mean (°C)	Min (°F)	Max (°F)	Mean (°F)
January	25.6	29.8	27.7	78	86	81.9
February	25.6	29.9	27.8	78	86	82
March	25.7	30	27.8	78	86	82.1
April	25.7	30.1	27.9	78	86	82.2
May	25.8	30.2	28	78	86	82.4
June	25.6	30.2	27.9	78	86	82.2
July	25.7	30.3	28	78	87	82.4
August	25.7	30.4	28	78	87	82.5
September	25.7	30.5	28.1	78	87	82.6
October	25.7	30.4	28	78	87	82.5
November	25.6	30	27.8	78	86	82
December	25.7	30.3	28	78	87	82.4
Year	25.7	30.2	27.85	78.2	86.3	82

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 years, 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.

Majuro - Average precipitation

Month	Millimeters	Inches	Days
January	205	8.1	18
February	180	7.1	16
March	210	8.3	18
April	270	10.6	20
May	280	11	23
June	290	11.4	24
July	310	12.2	24
August	290	11.4	23
September	320	12.6	23
October	360	14.2	24
November	340	13.4	23
December	295	11.6	22
Year	3355	132.1	258

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. In Majuro, there is an average of 2,600 hours of sunshine per year. Here are the sunshine hours per day.

Majuro - Sunshine hours

Month	Average	Total
January	7	225
February	8	220
March	8	255
April	7.5	220
May	7.5	225
June	7	210
July	7	215
August	7.5	230
September	7.5	220
October	6.5	205
November	6.5	190
December	6.5	195
Year	7.2	2615

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

Majuro - Sea temperature

Month	Celsius (°C)	Fahrenheit (°F)
January	28	83
February	28	83
March	28	83
April	28.5	83
May	28.5	83
June	29	84
July	29	84
August	29	85
September	29.5	85
October	29.5	85
November	29	85
December	28.5	84
Year	28.8	83.8

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.

When to go

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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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