Geography of Vanuatu
{{Short description|none}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox country geography
| name = Vanuatu
| map = Satellite_image_of_Vanuatu_in_October_1998.jpg
| continent =
| region = Pacific Ocean
| coordinates = {{Coord|16|00|S|167|00|E|type:country}}
| area ranking = 157th
| km area = 12,189
| percent land = 100
| km coastline = 2,528
| exclusive economic zone = {{convert|663,251|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}
| borders = None
| geographic center =
| highest point = Mount Tabwemasana
{{convert|1877|m}}
| lowest point = Pacific Ocean
{{convert|0|m}}
| longest river =
| largest lake =
}}
Vanuatu (formerly called the New Hebrides) is a nation and group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It is composed of over 80 islands with {{convert|2528|km|mi}} of coastline and a total surface area of {{convert|12189|km2|mi2}}. It's a small country with a total size of {{convert|12,189|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}. Due to the spread out islands it has the 39th largest Exclusive Economic Zone of {{convert|663,251|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}.
Vanuatu's geographic coordinates are {{Coord|16|00|S|167|00|E|type:country}}. It is part of Oceania. Its immediate neighbours include the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia, and Australia is the closest continent.
Terrain
Vanuatu is a mountainous archipelago of volcanic origin with narrow coastal plains.
The highest of all the mountains is Mount Tabwemasana at {{convert|1877|m|ft}}. Its tropical climate is moderated by southeast trade winds, and its natural resources include, hardwood forests, and fish. As of 2011, 1.64% of its land area is arable, 10.25% is devoted to crops, and a further 88.11% to other land usage.
Natural disasters include tropical cyclones or typhoons from January to April and volcanic activity which sometimes causes minor earthquakes. Tsunamis are also a hazard.
A majority of the population does not have access to a potable and reliable supply of water. Deforestation is another major concern on the islands.
Vanuatu is party to a number of international agreements, including agreements on Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, and Tropical Timber 94.
Closely tied to the Law of the Sea, Vanuatu lays maritime claim to 24 nautical miles (nm) of contiguous zone, 12 nm of territorial sea, and 200 nm of continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/vanuatu/|title=Australia - Oceania :: Vanuatu — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency|website=www.cia.gov|access-date=2019-04-05}}
Eratap,_Efate,_Vanuatu,_13_April_2008.jpg|A beach on Efate
A_stream_on_Efate,_Vanuatu.jpg|A stream on Efate
Climate
Vanuatu has a tropical climate, more specifically a tropical rainforest climate (Af in the Köppen climate classification), with noticeably wetter and drier months and hot, humid conditions year-round.. As the trade winds are almost permanent and tropical cyclones are not rare in Port Vila and Vanuatu, the climate is not equatorial but a maritime trade-wind tropical climate."Climatologie" by Pierre Estienne and Alain Godard, Éditions Armand Colin ({{ISBN|2-200-31042-0}}), "CHAPITRE XVI 1. Les climats équatoriaux et subéquatoriaux 2. Les climats tropicaux 3. Les climats d'alizé 4. Les climats de montagne LES CLIMATS DE LA ZONE INTERTROPICALE : LES VARIÉTÉS", pages 314, 315 and 322.
Vanuatu can be affected by tropical cyclones. Cyclone Pam was one of the worst cyclones to ever hit Vanuatu,{{cite web|url=https://www.unicef.org.nz/vanuatu|title=Vanuatu – Cyclone Pam Emergency Appeal|work=Unicef NZ|access-date=16 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403093543/https://www.unicef.org.nz/vanuatu|archive-date=3 April 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|work=World Food Programme|publisher=ReliefWeb|date=14 March 2015|access-date=15 March 2015|title=Emergency – Cyclone Pam, Vanuatu|url=http://reliefweb.int/report/vanuatu/emergency-cyclone-pam-vanuatu}}{{cite web|publisher=British Broadcasting Company|date=17 March 2015|access-date=17 March 2015|title=Cyclone Pam: Vanuatu islanders forced to drink saltwater|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31917913}} and had been described as a worst-case scenario for the country,{{cite web|author=Steve Almasy and Jethro Mullen|publisher=CNN|date=15 March 2015|access-date=15 March 2015|title=Aid workers scramble to help Cyclone Pam victims in Vanuatu |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/15/asia/cyclone-pam-vanuatu/}} with the estimated cost of damage being in the hundreds of millions.{{cite web|publisher=Prevention Web|date=15 May 2015|access-date=2 July 2015|title=UNESCO supports recovery of Vanuatu's culture sector following Tropical Cyclone Pam|url=http://www.preventionweb.net/english/professional/news/v.php?id=44408|archive-date=2 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002054935/http://www.preventionweb.net/english/professional/news/v.php?id=44408|url-status=dead}} In 2020, Cyclone Harold caused severe damage to Vanuatu and other Pacific nations.{{cite news |title=Vanuatu braces for strengthening tropical cyclone Harold |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/vanuatu-braces-for-strengthening-tropical-cyclone-harold |access-date=April 6, 2020 |work=SBS News |publisher=SBS |date=April 6, 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Cappucci |first1=Matthew |title=Tropical Cyclone Harold rakes Fiji after slamming Vanuatu at Category 5 strength |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/04/07/tropical-cyclone-harold-rakes-fiji-after-slamming-vanuatu-category-5-strength/ |access-date=April 7, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 7, 2020 |location=Washington, D.C.}}{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/sandravanuatu/status/1247125206029615105|title=#CycloneHarold #TCHarold #Vanuatu @UNICEFPacific declares that 100,000 people have been impacted, a third of the country's population, the majority of whom are children. Widespread network outages is hindering news from affected areas.|last=Vanuatu|first= ) in|date=April 6, 2020|website=@sandravanuatu|language=en|access-date=April 7, 2020}}{{cite news |title=Casualties reported in Vanuatu following TC Harold |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/413853/casualties-reported-in-vanuatu-following-tc-harold |access-date=April 10, 2020 |work=RNZ |publisher=Radio New Zealand |date=April 9, 2020}}
{{Weather box
|location = Port Vila (Köppen Af)
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|collapsed = Yes
|width = auto
|Jan record high C = 35.0
|Feb record high C = 33.9
|Mar record high C = 33.5
|Apr record high C = 32.5
|May record high C = 31.1
|Jun record high C = 32.0
|Jul record high C = 34.3
|Aug record high C = 32.0
|Sep record high C = 31.5
|Oct record high C = 31.2
|Nov record high C = 33.0
|Dec record high C = 35.6
|year record high C = 35.6
|Jan high C = 31.3
|Feb high C = 31.2
|Mar high C = 30.8
|Apr high C = 29.9
|May high C = 28.8
|Jun high C = 27.4
|Jul high C = 26.4
|Aug high C = 27.0
|Sep high C = 27.7
|Oct high C = 28.5
|Nov high C = 29.2
|Dec high C = 30.7
|year high C = 29.1
|Jan mean C = 26.4
|Feb mean C = 26.5
|Mar mean C = 26.3
|Apr mean C = 25.3
|May mean C = 24.1
|Jun mean C = 23.0
|Jul mean C = 22.1
|Aug mean C = 22.0
|Sep mean C = 22.7
|Oct mean C = 23.4
|Nov mean C = 24.6
|Dec mean C = 25.7
|year mean C = 24.3
|Jan low C = 22.5
|Feb low C = 23.0
|Mar low C = 22.6
|Apr low C = 22.0
|May low C = 20.2
|Jun low C = 19.8
|Jul low C = 18.2
|Aug low C = 18.0
|Sep low C = 18.4
|Oct low C = 19.6
|Nov low C = 20.7
|Dec low C = 21.7
|year low C = 20.5
|Jan record low C = 15.8
|Feb record low C = 15.0
|Mar record low C = 16.3
|Apr record low C = 14.5
|May record low C = 13.4
|Jun record low C = 10.0
|Jul record low C = 8.5
|Aug record low C = 10.0
|Sep record low C = 9.9
|Oct record low C = 11.0
|Nov record low C = 12.6
|Dec record low C = 15.2
|year record low C = 8.5
|rain colour = green
|Jan rain mm = 316.1
|Feb rain mm = 273.7
|Mar rain mm = 320.9
|Apr rain mm = 255.2
|May rain mm = 210.3
|Jun rain mm = 180.0
|Jul rain mm = 94.4
|Aug rain mm = 87.4
|Sep rain mm = 87.3
|Oct rain mm = 134.1
|Nov rain mm = 192.3
|Dec rain mm = 187.2
|unit rain days = 1.0 mm
|Jan rain days = 15.4
|Feb rain days = 16.6
|Mar rain days = 18.5
|Apr rain days = 17.1
|May rain days = 12.9
|Jun rain days = 11.3
|Jul rain days = 10.3
|Aug rain days = 9.8
|Sep rain days = 8.1
|Oct rain days = 8.4
|Nov rain days = 12.1
|Dec rain days = 13.2
|Jan humidity = 84
|Feb humidity = 85
|Mar humidity = 86
|Apr humidity = 87
|May humidity = 85
|Jun humidity = 85
|Jul humidity = 83
|Aug humidity = 82
|Sep humidity = 80
|Oct humidity = 81
|Nov humidity = 82
|Dec humidity = 83
|year humidity = 84
| Jan dew point C =24
| Feb dew point C =24
| Mar dew point C =24
| Apr dew point C =23
| May dew point C =21
| Jun dew point C =21
| Jul dew point C =20
| Aug dew point C =20
| Sep dew point C =20
| Oct dew point C =21
| Nov dew point C =22
| Dec dew point C =23
|Jan sun = 220.1
|Feb sun = 155.4
|Mar sun = 198.4
|Apr sun = 165.0
|May sun = 170.5
|Jun sun = 162.0
|Jul sun = 148.8
|Aug sun = 167.4
|Sep sun = 174.0
|Oct sun = 198.4
|Nov sun = 180.0
|Dec sun = 195.3
|year sun =
|Jand sun = 7.1
|Febd sun = 5.5
|Mard sun = 6.4
|Aprd sun = 5.5
|Mayd sun = 5.5
|Jund sun = 5.4
|Juld sun = 4.8
|Augd sun = 5.4
|Sepd sun = 5.8
|Octd sun = 6.4
|Novd sun = 6.0
|Decd sun = 6.3
|yeard sun = 5.8
|source 1 = Deutscher Wetterdienst{{cite web
| url = http://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_915570_kt.pdf
| title = Klimatafel von Vila (Int. Flugh.) / Insel Efaté / Vanuatu (Neue Hebriden)
| work = Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world
| publisher = Deutscher Wetterdienst
| language = de
| access-date = 22 November 2016
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170510172337/http://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_915570_kt.pdf
| archive-date = 10 May 2017
| url-status = dead
|date=March 2014}}
|source 2 =[https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/vanuatu/port-vila/climate Time and Date] (dewpoints, between 2005-2015){{cite web
|url = https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/vanuatu/port-vila/climate
|title = Climate & Weather Averages at Bauerfield Efate weather station (91557)
|publisher = Time and Date
|access-date = 6 February 2022}}
}}