Weather In Africa

Weather conditions can make or break a hunt particularly if you are hunting in East Africa where there are usually set rainy seasons during the year which will dictate the amount of vegetation growth, water availability and the dispersal of certain game animals. You might be well-advised not to pick hunt dates that are close to either ends of the rainy seasons. If you do catch the rains on safari, mobility in some areas will be difficult, particularly on black cotton soil. Locating animals in high vegetation and with numerous temporary water sources can also be very challenging.

African Climate Zones

Generally the climate of Africa is quite uniform due to the position of the continent in the tropical zone, the effects of cool ocean currents and the absence of major mountain chains which act as climatic barriers.

  • The central part of the continent has a tropical rain forest climate. Here the average annual temperature is about 26.7° C (about 80° F) and the average annual rainfall is about 1780 mm (about 70").
  • To the north and south the rain forest climate is a tropical savanna climate zone that encompasses about one-fifth of Africa. Here the climate is characterized by a wet season during the summer months and a dry season during the winter months. Total annual rainfall varies from 550 mm (20") to more than 1550 mm (more than 60").
  • Further away from the equator, to the north and south, the savanna climate zone gradually merges into the drier 'steppe' climate zone where the average annual rainfall varies between 250mm and 500 mm (10" and 20") and is concentrated in one season.
  • Africa has large areas of arid, or desert, climate zones. Each of these areas - the Sahara in the north, the Horn in the east and the Kalahari and Namib deserts in the southwest, has less than 250 mm (less than 10") of rainfall annually. In the Sahara, daily and seasonal extremes of temperatures are great. The average July temperature is more than 32.2° C (90° F). During the cold season the night temperature often drops below 0° C (32° F).
  • Mediterranean climate zones are found in the extreme northwest of Africa and in the extreme southwest. These regions are characterized by mild, wet winters and warm, dry summers.
  • In the highlands of eastern Africa, particularly in Kenya and Uganda, rainfall is well distributed throughout the year and temperatures are equable. The climate on the high plateau of southern Africa is temperate.

BOTSWANA WEATHER
MAUN WEATHER

CAMEROON WEATHER
DOUALA WEATHER

ETHIOPIA WEATHER
ADDIS ABABA WEATHER

MOZAMBIQUE WEATHER
MAPUTO WEATHER

NAMIBIA WEATHER
WINDHOEK WEATHER

SOUTH AFRICA WEATHER
JOHANNESBURG WEATHER

TANZANIA WEATHER
DAR ES SALAAM WEATHER

UGANDA WEATHER
KAMPALA WEATHER

ZAMBIA WEATHER
LUSAKA WEATHER

ZIMBABWE WEATHER
HARARE WEATHER


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Page Updated: Aug 2020



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