When to visit a country can affect more than your suntan. In many places, climate is a key factor in the overall levels of hygiene and disease, as well as the prevalence of those annoying little insects. In this article, we will take a close look at Africa
The climate in North Africa varies widely from the warm and pleasant greenery of a Mediterranean climate in the coastal regions to the arid heat of the deep Sahara. Rains on the coast usually fall between September and May and are heavy but not prolonged. It can get cool enough for snow to settle in the mountainous areas, but temperatures will not usually fall below freezing, even in winter. In summer, temperatures are high, up to around 4O°C, but bearable.
The Sahara on the other hand, is extreme, with maximum summer temperatures of around 5O°C and minimum winter temperatures of around 3°C. The temperature can fall extremely rapidly, with freezing nights following blisteringly hot days. What little, if any, rain there is can fall at any time of the year. The desert is also prone to strong winds and dust storms.
At no time is the climate in West Africa likely to be comfortable, although some areas and lines of the year are worse than others. The coastal areas are extremely wet and humid, with up to 2,500mm of rain falling in the two rainy seasons which are May through June and then again in October. In the north, there is considerably less rain, with only one wet period between June and September. However, the humidity is still high, only lessened by the arrival of the harmattan, a hot, dry, and dusty north-easterly wind which blows from the Sahara. Temperatures remain high and relatively even throughout the year.
Although much of East Africa is on or near the equator, little of it has an ‘equatorial’ climate. The lowlands of Djibouti in the extreme east have a very low, uncertain rainfall, creating near-desert conditions plagued by severe droughts. Further down the coast, the high lowland temperatures are moderated by constant sea breezes. The temperatures inland are brought down by high-altitude plateaus and mountain ranges to about the level found in Britain at the height of summer. Temperatures are reasonably stable all year round, although the Kenyan highlands have a cooler, cloudy ‘winter’ from June to September. There are rainy seasons in most areas in April and May and, in some areas, for a couple of months between July and November, depending on the latitude.
The whole area of South Africa from Angola, Zambia, and Malawi southwards tends to be fairly pleasant and healthy, although there are major variations from the Mediterranean climate of Cape Province, with its mild winters and warm, sunny summers, to the semi-desert sprawl of the Kalahari and the relatively wet areas of Swaziland, inland Mozambique and the Zimbabwe highlands to the east. In the more northerly areas, there is a definite summer rainy season, from December to March, when the temperatures are highest. On the south coast, there is usually some rain all year round. The west coast, with little rain, has clouds and fog due to the cold Benguela current, which also helps keep down the temperature. The best times of the year to visit are April, May, and September when the weather is fine but not too hot or humid.