How does climate vary in East Africa?
Annual rainfall throughout East Africa has largely decreased since 1960, while variability has increased. The region has been subject to more frequent and intense rainfall events, floods and droughts in recent decades. Indian Ocean surface temperatures have increased by 1°C since 1950.
What factors influence climate in East Africa?
The primary factors affecting the climates experienced in East Africa include altitude, the proximity of the warm Indian Ocean, the migration of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and the location of dominant atmospheric high and low pressure systems.
What will happen to Africa in the future due to climate change?
Climate change threatens the lives and livelihoods of over 100 million in extreme poverty. Global warming is expected to melt Africa’s remaining glaciers in the next few decades, and the reduction in water essential to agricultural production will create food insecurity, poverty, and population displacement.
What type of climate does East Africa have?
The climate of eastern Africa is generally tropical, though average temperatures tend to be reduced by the region’s high elevations.
What causes climate change in Africa?
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the vulnerability of Africa to climate change is driven by a range of factors that include weak adaptive capacity, high dependence on ecosystem goods for livelihoods, and less developed agricultural production systems.
What are some factors that influence climate?
Factors that Influence Climate
- Elevation or Altitude effect climate. Normally, climatic conditions become colder as altitude increases.
- Prevailing global wind patterns.
- Topography.
- Effects of Geography.
- Surface of the Earth.
- Climate change over time.
What are the 4 major climate zones of East Africa?
Based on the combination of temperature, precipitation and evapotranspiration, Africa canbe divided into four main climatic zones; 1) arid and semi-arid, 2) tropical, 3) equatorial, and 4) temperate [19] . …
Why Africa is vulnerable to climate change?
Why is climate change affecting Africa?
Much of Africa has already warmed by more than 1 °C since 1901, with an increase in heatwaves and hot days. A reduction in precipitation is likely over North Africa and the south-western parts of South Africa by the end of the century, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC).
What factors influence climate in Africa?
The factors that affect the climate of Africa are latitudinal extent, land and sea contrast, ocean currents, and altitude.
Why is Africa most affected by climate change?
Africa will be one of the regions most impacted by the adverse effects of climate change. Reasons for Africa’s vulnerability are diverse and include low levels of adaptive capacity, poor diffusion of technologies and information relevant to supporting adaptation, and high dependence on agro-ecosystems for livelihoods.
Is eastern Africa a dry climate zone?
Eastern Africa, classically presented as a major dry climate anomaly region in the otherwise wet equatorial belt, is a transition zone between the monsoon domains of West Africa and the Indian Ocean.
Is there a coupled regional climate model for East Africa?
A coupled regional climate model for the Lake Victoria basin of East Africa. International Journal of Climatology, 24 (1), 57–75. Stephens, W., Othieno, C. O., & Carr, M. K. V. (1992). Climate and weather variability at the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 61 (3), 219–235. Sumner, G. N. (1982).
Are East African wet years caused by warm anomalies?
Most east African wet years coincide with warm anomalies in both the IOZM and Niño 3+4 times-series (Figure 18c; Black, Slingo, & Sperber, 2003 ).
What is the seasonal rainfall distribution in Africa?
In the northwest, rainfall regimes are single-peak with a boreal summer maximum (July or August; e.g., Khartoum, Figure 10 ). Figure 10. Seasonal rainfall distribution over Eastern Africa. Shadings show the three-month period during which the peak rainfall month is found.