Tuvalu Tuuvalu (Tuvaluan)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Tuvalu mo te Atua (Tuvaluan) "Tuvalu for the Almighty"
Anthem: Tuvalu mo te Atua (Tuvaluan) Tuvalu for the Almighty Royal anthem: "God Save the King"
Capital and largest city	Funafuti 8°31′S 179°12′E / 8.517°S 179.200°E / -8.517; 179.200
Official languages	Tuvaluan English
Ethnic groups (2022)	96% Tuvaluans 4% others
Religion (2022)[1][2]	94.8% Christianity —86.0% Church of Tuvalu —8.8% other Christian 3.3% no religion 1.7% Baha'i Faith 0.2% others
Demonym(s)	Tuvaluan
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Charles III
• Governor-General	Tofiga Vaevalu Falani
• Prime Minister	Feleti Teo
Legislature	Parliament
Independence
• from the United Kingdom	1 October 1978
Area
• Total	26 km2 (10 sq mi)[3] (192nd)
• Water (%)	negligible
Population
• 2021 estimate	11,900 (194th)
• 2017 census	10,645
• Density	475.88/km2 (1,232.5/sq mi) (27th)
GDP (PPP)	2023 estimate
• Total	$63 million[4]
• Per capita	$5,765[4]
GDP (nominal)	2023 estimate
• Total	$63 million[4]
• Per capita	$5,772[4]
Gini (2010)	39.1[5] medium
HDI (2022)	0.653[6] medium (132nd)
Currency	Tuvaluan dollar Australian dollar (AUD)
Time zone	UTC+12
Driving side	left
Calling code	+688
ISO 3166 code	TV
Internet TLD	.tv

Tuvalu (/tuːˈvɑːluː/ ^ⓘ too-VAH-loo),^[7] formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands), northeast of Vanuatu, southeast of Nauru, south of Kiribati, west of Tokelau, northwest of Samoa and Wallis and Futuna, and north of Fiji.

Tuvalu is composed of three reef islands and six atolls spread out between the latitude of 5° and 10° south and between the longitude of 176° and 180°. They lie west of the International Date Line.^[8] The 2017 census determined that Tuvalu had a population of 10,645, making it the second-least populous country in the world, behind Vatican City. Its total land area is 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi).

The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesians, according to well established theories regarding a migration of Polynesians into the Pacific that began about three thousand years ago.^[9] Long before European contact with the Pacific islands, Polynesians frequently voyaged by canoe between the islands. Polynesian navigation skills enabled them to make elaborately planned journeys in either double-hulled sailing canoes or outrigger canoes.^[10] Scholars believe that the Polynesians spread out from Samoa and Tonga into the Tuvaluan atolls, which then served as a stepping stone for further migration into the Polynesian outliers in Melanesia and Micronesia.^[11][12][13]

In 1569, Spanish explorer and cartographer, Álvaro de Mendaña became the first European known to sail through the archipelago, sighting the island of Nui during an expedition he was making in search of Terra Australis. The island of Funafuti was named Ellice's Island in 1819. Later, the whole group was named Ellice Islands by English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay. In the late 19th century, Great Britain claimed control over the Ellice Islands, designating them as within their sphere of influence.^[14] Between 9 and 16 October 1892, Captain Herbert Gibson of HMS Curacoa declared each of the Ellice Islands a British protectorate. Britain assigned a resident commissioner to administer the Ellice Islands as part of the British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT). From 1916 to 1975, they were managed as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony.

A referendum was held in 1974 to determine whether the Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands should each have their own administration.^[15] As a result, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony legally ceased to exist on 1 October 1975; on 1 January 1976, the old administration was officially separated,^[16] and two separate British colonies, Kiribati and Tuvalu, were formed. On 1 October 1978, Tuvalu became fully independent as a sovereign state within the Commonwealth, and is a constitutional monarchy with King Charles III as King of Tuvalu. On 5 September 2000, Tuvalu became the 189th member of the United Nations.

The islands do not have a significant amount of soil, so the country relies heavily on imports and fishing for food. Licensing fishing permits to international companies, grants and aid projects, and remittances to their families from Tuvaluan seafarers who work on cargo ships are important parts of the economy. Because it is a low-lying island nation, the country is extremely vulnerable to sea level rise due to climate change. It is active in international climate negotiations as part of the Alliance of Small Island States.

History

Prehistory

The origins of the people of Tuvalu are addressed in the theories regarding the migration into the Pacific that began about 3,000 years ago. During pre-European-contact times, there was frequent canoe voyaging between the nearer islands including Samoa and Tonga.^[17] Eight of the nine islands of Tuvalu were inhabited. This explains the origin of the name, Tuvalu, which means "eight standing together" in Tuvaluan (compare to *walo meaning "eight" in Proto-Austronesian). Possible evidence of human-made fires in the Caves of Nanumanga suggests humans may have occupied the islands for thousands of years.

An important creation myth in the islands of Tuvalu is the story of te Pusi mo te Ali (the Eel and the Flounder), who are said to have created the islands of Tuvalu. Te Ali (the flounder) is believed to be the origin of the flat atolls of Tuvalu and te Pusi (the eel) is the model for the coconut palms that are important in the lives of Tuvaluans. The stories of the ancestors of the Tuvaluans vary from island to island. On Niutao,^[18] Funafuti and Vaitupu, the founding ancestor is described as being from Samoa,^[19][20] whereas on Nanumea, the founding ancestor is described as being from Tonga.^[19]

Early contacts with other cultures

Tuvalu was first sighted by Europeans on 16 January 1568, during the voyage of Álvaro de Mendaña from Spain, who sailed past Nui and charted it as Isla de Jesús (Spanish for "Island of Jesus") because the previous day was the feast of the Holy Name. Mendaña made contact with the islanders but was unable to land.^[22][23] During Mendaña's second voyage across the Pacific, he passed Niulakita on 29 August 1595, which he named La Solitaria.^[23][24]

Captain John Byron passed through the islands of Tuvalu in 1764, during his circumnavigation of the globe as captain of the Dolphin (1751).^[25] He charted the atolls as Lagoon Islands. The first recorded sighting of Nanumea by Europeans was by Spanish naval officer Francisco Mourelle de la Rúa who sailed past it on 5 May 1781 as captain of the frigate La Princesa, when attempting a southern crossing of the Pacific from the Philippines to New Spain. He charted Nanumea as San Augustin.^[26][27] Keith S. Chambers and Doug Munro (1980) identified Niutao as the island that Mourelle also sailed past on 5 May 1781, thus solving what Europeans had called The Mystery of Gran Cocal.^[24][28] Mourelle's map and journal named the island El Gran Cocal ('The Great Coconut Plantation'); however, the latitude and longitude was uncertain.^[28] Longitude could be reckoned only crudely at the time, as accurate chronometers did not become available until the late 18th century.

In 1809, Captain Patterson in the brig Elizabeth sighted Nanumea while passing through the northern Tuvalu waters on a trading voyage from Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia to China.^[26] In May 1819, Arent Schuyler de Peyster, of New York, captain of the armed brigantine or privateer Rebecca, sailing under British colours,^[29][30] passed through the southern Tuvaluan waters. De Peyster sighted Nukufetau, and Funafuti which he named Ellice's Island after an English politician, Edward Ellice, the Member of Parliament for Coventry and the owner of the Rebecca's cargo.^[28][31][32] The name Ellice was applied to all nine islands after the work of English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay.^[33]

In 1820, the Russian explorer Mikhail Lazarev visited Nukufetau as commander of the Mirny.^[28] Louis-Isidore Duperrey, captain of La Coquille, sailed past Nanumanga in May 1824 during a circumnavigation of the Earth (1822–1825).^[34] A Dutch expedition (the frigate Maria Reigersberg) found Nui on the morning of 14 June 1825, and named the main island (Fenua Tapu) as Nederlandsch Eiland.^[35] Whalers began roving the Pacific, although they visited Tuvalu only infrequently because of the difficulties of landing on the atolls. The American Captain George Barrett of the Nantucket whaler Independence II has been identified as the first whaler to hunt the waters around Tuvalu.^[31] He bartered coconuts from the people of Nukulaelae in November 1821, and also visited Niulakita.^[24] He established a shore camp on Sakalua islet of Nukufetau, where coal was used to melt down the whale blubber.^[36]

Christianity came to Tuvalu in 1861 when Elekana, a deacon of a Congregational church in Manihiki, Cook Islands, became caught in a storm and drifted for eight weeks before landing at Nukulaelae on 10 May 1861.^[28][37] Elekana began preaching Christianity. He was trained at Malua Theological College, a London Missionary Society (LMS) school in Samoa, before beginning his work in establishing the Church of Tuvalu.^[28] In 1865, the Rev. Archibald Wright Murray of the LMS, a Protestant congregationalist missionary society, arrived as the first European missionary; he also evangelised among the inhabitants of Tuvalu. By 1878 Protestantism was considered well established, as there were preachers on each island.^[28] In the later 19th and early 20th centuries, the ministers of what became the Church of Tuvalu (Te Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu) were predominantly Samoans,^[38] who influenced the development of the Tuvaluan language and the music of Tuvalu.^[39]

For less than a year between 1862 and 1863, Peruvian ships engaged in the so-called "blackbirding" trade, by which they recruited or impressed workers, combed the smaller islands of Polynesia from Easter Island in the eastern Pacific to Tuvalu and the southern atolls of the Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati). They sought recruits to fill the extreme labour shortage in Peru.^[40] On Funafuti and Nukulaelae, the resident traders facilitated the recruiting of the islanders by the "blackbirders".^[41] The Rev. Archibald Wright Murray,^[42] the earliest European missionary in Tuvalu, reported that in 1863 about 170 people were taken from Funafuti and about 250 were taken from Nukulaelae,^[28] as there were fewer than 100 of the 300 recorded in 1861 as living on Nukulaelae.^[43][44]

The islands came into Britain's sphere of influence in the late 19th century, when each of the Ellice Islands was declared a British protectorate by Captain Herbert Gibson of HMS Curacoa, between 9 and 16 October 1892.^[45]

Trading firms and traders

Trading companies became active in Tuvalu in the mid-19th century; the trading companies engaged white (palagi) traders who lived on the islands. John (also known as Jack) O'Brien was the first European to settle in Tuvalu; he became a trader on Funafuti in the 1850s. He married Salai, the daughter of the paramount chief of Funafuti. Louis Becke, who later found success as a writer, was a trader on Nanumanga from April 1880 until the trading station was destroyed later that year in a cyclone.^[46] He then became a trader on Nukufetau.^[47][48][49]

In 1892, Captain Edward Davis of HMS Royalist reported on trading activities and traders on each of the islands visited. Captain Davis identified the following traders in the Ellice Group: Edmund Duffy (Nanumea); Jack Buckland (Niutao); Harry Nitz (Vaitupu); Jack O'Brien (Funafuti); Alfred Restieaux and Emile Fenisot (Nukufetau); and Martin Kleis (Nui).^[50][51] During this time, the greatest number of palagi traders lived on the atolls, acting as agents for the trading companies. Some islands would have competing traders, while dryer islands might only have a single trader.^[41]

In the 1890s, structural changes occurred in the operation of the Pacific trading companies; they moved from a practice of having traders resident on each island to instead becoming a business operation where the supercargo (the cargo manager of a trading ship) would deal directly with the islanders when a ship visited an island.^[41] After the high point in the 1880s,^[41] the numbers of palagi traders in Tuvalu declined; the last of them were Fred Whibley on Niutao, Alfred Restieaux on Nukufetau,^[52][53] and Martin Kleis on Nui.^[51] By 1909 there were no more resident palagi traders representing the trading companies,^[51][41] although Whibley, Restieaux and Kleis^[54] remained in the islands until their deaths.

Scientific expeditions and travellers

The United States Exploring Expedition under Charles Wilkes visited Funafuti, Nukufetau, and Vaitupu in 1841.^[55] During this expedition, engraver and illustrator Alfred Thomas Agate recorded the dress and tattoo patterns of the men of Nukufetau.^[56]

In 1885 or 1886, the New Zealand photographer Thomas Andrew visited Funafuti^[57] and Nui.^[58][59]

In 1890, Robert Louis Stevenson, his wife Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson and her son Lloyd Osbourne sailed on the Janet Nicoll, a trading steamer owned by Henderson and Macfarlane of Auckland, New Zealand, which operated between Sydney and Auckland and into the central Pacific.^[60] The Janet Nicoll visited three of the Ellice Islands;^[61] while Fanny records that they made landfall at Funafuti, Niutao and Nanumea, Jane Resture suggests that it was more likely they landed at Nukufetau rather than Funafuti,^[62] as Fanny describes meeting Alfred Restieaux and his wife Litia; however they had been living on Nukufetau since the 1880s.^[52][53] An account of this voyage was written by Fanny Stevenson and published under the title The Cruise of the Janet Nichol,^[63] together with photographs taken by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne.

In 1894, Count Rudolf Festetics de Tolna, his wife Eila (née Haggin) and her daughter Blanche Haggin visited Funafuti aboard the yacht Le Tolna.^[64] The Count spent several days photographing men and women on Funafuti.^[65][66]

The boreholes on Funafuti, at the site now called Darwin's Drill,^[67] are the result of drilling conducted by the Royal Society of London for the purpose of investigating the formation of coral reefs to determine whether traces of shallow water organisms could be found at depth in the coral of Pacific atolls. This investigation followed the work on The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs conducted by Charles Darwin in the Pacific. Drilling occurred in 1896, 1897 and 1898.^[68] Professor Edgeworth David of the University of Sydney was a member of the 1896 "Funafuti Coral Reef Boring Expedition of the Royal Society", under Professor William Sollas and led the expedition in 1897.^[69] Photographers on these trips recorded people, communities, and scenes at Funafuti.^[70]

Charles Hedley, a naturalist at the Australian Museum, accompanied the 1896 expedition, and during his stay on Funafuti he collected invertebrate and ethnological objects. The descriptions of these were published in Memoir III of the Australian Museum Sydney between 1896 and 1900. Hedley also wrote the General Account of the Atoll of Funafuti, The Ethnology of Funafuti,^[71] and The Mollusca of Funafuti.^[72][73] Edgar Waite was also part of the 1896 expedition and published The mammals, reptiles, and fishes of Funafuti.^[74] William Rainbow described the spiders and insects collected at Funafuti in The insect fauna of Funafuti.^[75]

Harry Clifford Fassett, captain's clerk and photographer, recorded people, communities and scenes at Funafuti in 1900 during a visit of USFC Albatross when the United States Fish Commission was investigating the formation of coral reefs on Pacific atolls.^[76]

Colonial administration

The Ellice Islands were administered as a British Protectorate from 1892 to 1916, as part of the British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT), by a Resident Commissioner based in the Gilbert Islands. The administration of the BWPT ended in 1916, and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony was established, which existed until October 1975.

Second World War

During the Second World War, as a British colony the Ellice Islands were aligned with the Allies. Early in the war, the Japanese invaded and occupied Makin, Tarawa and other islands in what is now Kiribati. The United States Marine Corps landed on Funafuti on 2 October 1942,^[77] and on Nanumea and Nukufetau in August 1943. Funafuti was used as a base to prepare for the subsequent seaborne attacks on the Gilbert Islands (Kiribati) that were occupied by Japanese forces.^[78]

The islanders assisted the American forces to build airfields on Funafuti, Nanumea and Nukufetau and to unload supplies from ships.^[79] On Funafuti, the islanders shifted to the smaller islets so as to allow the American forces to build the airfield and Naval Base Funafuti on Fongafale.^[80] A Naval Construction Battalion (Seabees) built a seaplane ramp on the lagoon side of Fongafale islet, for seaplane operations by both short- and long-range seaplanes, and a compacted coral runway was also constructed on Fongafale,^[81] with runways also constructed to create Nanumea Airfield^[82] and Nukufetau Airfield.^[83] USN Patrol Torpedo Boats (PTs) and seaplanes were based at Naval Base Funafuti from 2 November 1942 to 11 May 1944.^[84]

The atolls of Tuvalu acted as staging posts during the preparation for the Battle of Tarawa and the Battle of Makin that commenced on 20 November 1943, which were part of the implementation of "Operation Galvanic".^[85][86] After the war, the military airfield on Funafuti was developed into Funafuti International Airport.

Post-World War II – transition to independence

The formation of the United Nations after World War II resulted in the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization committing to a process of decolonisation; as a consequence, the British colonies in the Pacific started on a path to self-determination.^[87][88]

In 1974, the ministerial government was introduced to the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony through a change to the Constitution. In that year a general election was held,^[89] and a referendum was held in 1974 to determine whether the Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands should each have their own administration.^[90] As a consequence of the referendum, separation occurred in two stages. The Tuvaluan Order 1975, which took effect on 1 October 1975, recognised Tuvalu as a separate Crown Colony with its own government.^[91] The second stage occurred on 1 January 1976, when separate administrations were created out of the civil service of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony.^{[92]: 169 [93]}

In 1976, Tuvalu adopted the Tuvaluan dollar, whose currency circulates alongside the Australian dollar,^[94][95] which was previously adopted in 1966.

Elections to the House of Assembly of the British Colony of Tuvalu were held on 27 August 1977, with Toaripi Lauti being appointed Chief Minister in the House of Assembly of the Colony of Tuvalu on 1 October 1977. The House of Assembly was dissolved in July 1978, with the government of Toaripi Lauti continuing as a caretaker government until the 1981 elections were held.^[96]

Independence

Toaripi Lauti became the first Prime Minister on 1 October 1978, when Tuvalu became an independent state.^{[87][92]: 153–177} That date is also celebrated as the country's Independence Day and is a public holiday.^[97]

On 26 October 1982, Queen Elizabeth II made a special royal tour to Tuvalu.

On 5 September 2000, Tuvalu became the 189th member of the United Nations.^[98]

On 15 November 2022, amidst sea level rises, Tuvalu announced plans as the first country in the world to build a self-digital replica in the metaverse in order to preserve its cultural heritage.^[99]

On 10 November 2023, Tuvalu signed the Falepili Union treaty with Australia.^[100] In the Tuvaluan language, Falepili describes the traditional values of good neighbourliness, care and mutual respect.^[101] The Treaty addresses climate change and security,^[101] with security threats encompassing major natural disasters, health pandemics and traditional security threats.^[101] The implementation of the Treaty will involve Australia increasing its contribution to the Tuvalu Trust Fund and the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project.^[101] Australia will also provide a pathway for 280 citizens of Tuvalu to migrate to Australia each year, to enable climate-related mobility for Tuvaluans.^[101][102]

Geography and environment

Geography

Tuvalu is a volcanic archipelago, and consists of three reef islands (Nanumanga, Niutao and Niulakita) and six true atolls (Funafuti, Nanumea, Nui, Nukufetau, Nukulaelae and Vaitupu).^[103] Its small, scattered group of low-lying atolls have poor soil and a total land area of only about 26 square kilometres (10 square miles) making it the fourth smallest country in the world. The highest elevation is 4.6 metres (15 ft) above sea level on Niulakita; however the low-lying atolls and reef islands of Tuvalu are susceptible to seawater flooding during cyclones and storms.^[104] The sea level at the Funafuti tide gauge has risen at 3.9 mm per year, which is approximately twice the global average.^[105] However, over four decades, there had been a net increase in land area of the islets of 73.5 ha (2.9%), although the changes are not uniform, with 74% increasing and 27% decreasing in size. A 2018 report stated that the rising sea levels are identified as creating an increased transfer of wave energy across reef surfaces, which shifts sand, resulting in accretion to island shorelines.^[103] The Tuvalu Prime Minister objected to the report's implication that there were "alternate" strategies for Islanders to adapt to rising sea levels, and criticised it for neglecting issues such as saltwater intrusion into groundwater tables as a result of sea level rise.^[106]

Funafuti is the largest atoll, and comprises numerous islets around a central lagoon that is approximately 25.1 kilometres (15.6 miles) (N–S) by 18.4 kilometres (11.4 miles) (W-E), centred on 179°7'E and 8°30'S. On the atolls, an annular reef rim surrounds the lagoon with seven natural reef channels.^[107] Surveys were carried out in May 2010 of the reef habitats of Nanumea, Nukulaelae and Funafuti; a total of 317 fish species were recorded during this Tuvalu Marine Life study. The surveys identified 66 species that had not previously been recorded in Tuvalu, which brings the total number of identified species to 607.^[108][109] Tuvalu's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) covers an oceanic area of approximately 900,000 km².^[110]

Tuvalu signed the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992, and ratified it in December 2002.^[111][112] The predominant vegetation type on the islands of Tuvalu is the cultivated coconut woodland, which covers 43% of the land. The native broadleaf forest is limited to 4.1% of the vegetation types.^[113] Tuvalu contains the Western Polynesian tropical moist forests terrestrial ecoregion.^[114]

Environmental pressures

The eastern shoreline of Funafuti Lagoon on Fongafale was modified during World War II when the airfield (now Funafuti International Airport) was constructed. The coral base of the atoll was used as fill to create the runway. The resulting borrow pits impacted the fresh-water aquifer. In the low-lying areas of Funafuti, the sea water can be seen bubbling up through the porous coral rock to form pools with each high tide.^[115][116] In 2014, the Tuvalu Borrow Pits Remediation (BPR) project was approved so that 10 borrow pits would be filled with sand from the lagoon, leaving Tafua Pond, which is a natural pond. The New Zealand Government funded the BPR project.^[117] The project was carried out in 2015, with 365,000 sqm of sand being dredged from the lagoon to fill the holes and improve living conditions on the island. This project increased the usable land space on Fongafale by eight per cent.^[118]

During World War II, several piers were also constructed on Fongafale in the Funafuti Lagoon; beach areas were filled and deep-water access channels were excavated. These alterations to the reef and shoreline resulted in changes to wave patterns, with less sand accumulating to form the beaches, compared to former times; the shoreline is now exposed to wave action. Several attempts to stabilise the shoreline have not achieved the desired effect.^[119]

The reefs at Funafuti suffered damage during the El Niño events that occurred between 1998 and 2001, with an average of 70% of the Staghorn (Acropora spp.) corals becoming bleached as a consequence of the increase in ocean temperatures.^{[120][121][122]} A reef restoration project has investigated reef restoration techniques;^[123] and researchers from Japan have investigated rebuilding the coral reefs through the introduction of foraminifera.^[124] The project of the Japan International Cooperation Agency is designed to increase the resilience of the Tuvalu coast against sea level rise, through ecosystem rehabilitation and regeneration and through support for sand production.^[125]

The rising population has resulted in an increased demand on fish stocks, which are under stress,^[121] although the creation of the Funafuti Conservation Area has provided a fishing exclusion area to help sustain the fish population across the Funafuti lagoon.^[126] Population pressure on the resources of Funafuti, and inadequate sanitation systems, have resulted in pollution.^[127][128] The Waste Operations and Services Act of 2009 provides the legal framework for waste management and pollution control projects funded by the European Union directed at organic waste composting in eco-sanitation systems.^[129] The Environment Protection (Litter and Waste Control) Regulation 2013 is intended to improve the management of the importation of non-biodegradable materials. Plastic waste is a problem in Tuvalu, for much imported food and other commodities are supplied in plastic containers or packaging.

In 2023 the governments of Tuvalu and other islands vulnerable to climate change (Fiji, Niue, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu) launched the "Port Vila Call for a Just Transition to a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific", calling for the phase out fossil fuels and the 'rapid and just transition' to renewable energy and strengthening environmental law including introducing the crime of ecocide.^{[130][131][132]}

Climate

Tuvalu experiences two distinct seasons, a wet season from November to April and a dry season from May to October.^[133] Westerly gales and heavy rain are the predominant weather conditions from November to April, the period that is known as Tau-o-lalo, with tropical temperatures moderated by easterly winds from May to October.

Tuvalu experiences the effects of El Niño and La Niña, which is caused by changes in ocean temperatures in the equatorial and central Pacific. El Niño effects increase the chances of tropical storms and cyclones, while La Niñan effects increase the chances of drought. Typically the islands of Tuvalu receive between 200 and 400 mm (8 and 16 in) of rainfall per month. The central Pacific Ocean experiences changes from periods of La Niña to periods of El Niño.^[134]