Tokelau, an archipelago consisting of three coral atolls (Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo), is a territory of New Zealand located in the Pacific Ocean, about 9 degrees south of the Equator, and has a
hot, humid and rainy climate throughout the year.
The
temperature is very stable: the daily average is around 29 °C (84 °F) throughout the year.
Here are the average temperatures in Nukunonu, the largest atoll.
Nukunonu - Average temperatures (1991-2020) | Month | Min (°C) | Max (°C) | Mean (°C) | Min (°F) | Max (°F) | Mean (°F) |
|---|
| January | 26 | 31 | 28.6 | 78 | 88 | 83.4 |
|---|
| February | 26 | 31 | 28.4 | 78 | 88 | 83.2 |
|---|
| March | 26 | 31 | 28.5 | 78 | 88 | 83.4 |
|---|
| April | 26 | 32 | 28.9 | 79 | 89 | 83.9 |
|---|
| May | 26 | 32 | 28.9 | 79 | 89 | 84 |
|---|
| June | 26 | 31 | 28.8 | 79 | 89 | 83.8 |
|---|
| July | 26 | 31 | 28.6 | 79 | 88 | 83.5 |
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| August | 26 | 31 | 28.5 | 79 | 88 | 83.4 |
|---|
| September | 26 | 31 | 28.7 | 79 | 88 | 83.7 |
|---|
| October | 26 | 32 | 28.7 | 79 | 89 | 83.7 |
|---|
| November | 26 | 32 | 28.8 | 79 | 89 | 83.9 |
|---|
| December | 26 | 32 | 28.7 | 79 | 89 | 83.7 |
|---|
| Year | 26 | 31.4 | 28.65 | 78.7 | 88.6 | 83.5 |
|---|
is abundant, amounting to around 2,750 millimeters (108 inches) per year, with a rainier period between November and March, when it rains not less than 250 mm (10 in) per month, and a relatively less rainy period between April and September, when, however, precipitation doesn't go below 150 mm (6 in) per month. Here is the average precipitation in Nukunonu.
Nukunonu - Average precipitation| Month | Millimeters | Inches | Days |
|---|
| January | 360 | 14.2 | |
|---|
| February | 290 | 11.4 | |
|---|
| March | 245 | 9.6 | |
|---|
| April | 180 | 7.1 | |
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| May | 165 | 6.5 | |
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| June | 205 | 8.1 | |
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| July | 195 | 7.7 | |
|---|
| August | 170 | 6.7 | |
|---|
| September | 175 | 6.9 | |
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| October | 200 | 7.9 | |
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| November | 245 | 9.6 | |
|---|
| December | 310 | 12.2 | |
|---|
| Year | 2745 | 108.1 | |
|---|
The
sea in Tokelau is warm enough to swim in all year round, as we can see in the following table.
Nukunonu - Sea temperature| Month | Celsius (°C) | Fahrenheit (°F) |
|---|
January | 29 | 85 | February | 29 | 85 | March | 30 | 85 | April | 30 | 85 | May | 30 | 85 | June | 29 | 85 | July | 29 | 84 | August | 29 | 84 | September | 29 | 84 | October | 29 | 85 | November | 30 | 85 | December | 30 | 85 | Year | 29.4 | 84.9 |
Tropical cyclones
Tokelau lies in the path of
tropical cyclones. Cyclones are usually formed from November to mid-May, though they are most likely from late December to early April. Sometimes, however, they have occurred outside of this period, as happened with Cyclone Keli in June 1997. A particularly destructive cyclone on these islands was Cyclone Percy at the end of February 2005.
When to go and what to pack in
Tokelau