Supermoon

July's supermoon will appear full for up to three days, according to Nasa.

Known as a Buck Moon, it will be closer than normal in its orbit around the Earth.

This is because the Moon's orbit is not a perfect circle due to the Earth's gravitational pull; instead it is elliptical, like an elongated circle or oval.

Because of this, there are times in the Moon's 27.32-day orbit when it is closer to the Earth and other times when it is further away.

A supermoon happens when the Moon is at the closest point to Earth in its orbit and also in its full moon phase.

RNZ's correspondent Giff Johnson said there has been some debris thrown up from the sea onto roads in the low lying atolls this week but no more than usual.

He said people are likely to be more concerned and on alert next month as king tides traditionally peak and are more common in January and February.

Mr Johnson said the Marshall Islands are relatively unaffected for now.

Sky gazers around the world are congregating near landmarks, on beaches and atop tall buildings to take a look.

The 'supermoon' reached its brightest in Asia on Monday evening.

The Moon was closest - only 221,524 miles (356,509km) away - at 11:21 GMT.

The moon orbits the Earth in an ellipse, not a circle, so it is sometimes closer to the Earth than it is at other times.

When the perigee - the closest approach - and the full moon coincide, it is known as a supermoon.