365 Days of Climate Awareness 229 — Overview of the African Climate
Much of Africa sits in the Intertropical Zone, the roughly 47° of latitude between the northern Tropic of Capricorn and the southern Tropic of Cancer.
Much of Africa sits in the Intertropical Zone, the roughly 47° of latitude between the northern Tropic of Capricorn and the southern Tropic of Cancer. The continent is warm overall, with only a few temperate zones at higher elevations. There is greater range annually in precipitation than in temperatures, and this has more to do with the shape of the land mass and wind patterns. The northern and southern coasts have pleasant Mediterranean climates, but between them are tropical zones of both arid and rainforest type.
The Sahara Desert (named directly from the feminine Arabic term for desert) covers 9.2 million km2/3.6 million mi2 (13 times the size of Texas!), nearly 31% of the entire continent. It stretches from east to west across the entire northern portion of Africa, with only a few tiny oases and a narrow band of temperate coastline. The Sahara’s albedo is 32% and helps create the intensely stratified atmosphere which prevents vertical circulation and keeps the region virtually rain-free. Meanwhile, farther…
