National compliance action plan for Kiribati for the implementation of the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, 2002-2005

Kiribati comprises three groups of islands straddling the equator - the Gilberts, the Phoenix and the Line Islands. These islands, although covering only some 880 square kilometres of land area, are spread over 3.5 million square kilometres of territorial waters. Most of the islands are only three to four meters above mean sea level and there are few places where the islands are wider than 1km although some are relatively long. Tarawa is the capital, located in the Gilbert Group. In South Tarawa, monthly temperature maxima vary between 33 degrees Celsius and 35 degrees Celsius. The mean temperature is about