Tourists have begun cutting their holidays short because of the current bad weather in many of the atolls, Miadhu reports.

This sort of weather is uncommon during the December-January period when tourism usually peaks.

The Maldives Meteorological Service reported that the weather was being created by a low pressure trough above the country.

Europe and the Americas are experiencing severe bad weather and the hampering of transport systems could be having an effect on tourist arrivals to the Maldives, Miadhu suggested.