Tokelau is in Polynesia, a group of three atolls about half way between Hawaii to New Zealand.

» Climate

Tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November)
The average temperature is about 28 degrees C annually. Rainfall is irregular but heavy. There are downpours of up to 80 mm in a single day which are possible anytime. Tokelau is at the north edge of the main hurricane belt, but tropical storms sometimes sweep through between November and March. Since 1846, Tokelau had only experienced three recorded hurricanes. Then in February 1990, waves from Hurricane Ofa broke across the atolls, washing topsoil away and contaminating the freshwater lens. Residual salt prevented new plat growth for months. Hurricane Val in 1992 and Hurricane Percy in 2005 did additional damage. The recent increase in such storms seems related to global warming..

» Landscape

Tokelau consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three metres above sea level.