Climate
The climate of Kenya varies by location, from mostly cool every day, to always warm/hot. The climate along the coast is tropical. This means rainfall and temperatures are higher throughout the year. At the coastal city Mombasa, the air changes from cool to hot, almost every day (see chart below). The further inside Kenya, the more arid the climate becomes. An arid climate is nearly devoid of rainfall, and temperature swings widely according to the general time of the day/night. For many areas of Kenya, the daytime temperature rises about 12 C (corresponding to a rise of about 22F), almost every day.
Elevation is the major factor in temperature levels, with the higher areas, on average, as 11°C (20°F) cooler, day or night. The many mile-high cities have temperature swings from roughly 50–79 °F (10–26.1 °C). Nairobi, at 1,798 m (5,899 ft) or 1.798 km (1.12 mi), ranges from 49–80 °F (9.4–26.7 °C), and Kitale, at 1,825 m (5,988 ft) or 1.825 km (1.13 mi), ranges from 51–82 °F (10.6–27.8 °C). The overnight lows are not like the "Garden of Eden" because, at night, heavy clothes or blankets are needed, in the highlands, when the temperature drops to about 50–54 °F (10–12.2 °C) every night.
At lower altitudes, the increased temperature is like day and night, literally: like starting the morning at the highland daytime high, and then adding the heat of the day, again. Hence, the overnight low temperatures near sealevel are nearly the same as the high temperatures of the elevated Kenyan highlands. However, locations along the Indian Ocean have more moderate temperatures, as a few degrees cooler in the daytime, such as at Mombasa (see chart below).
There are slight seasonal variations in temperature, of 4 °C or 7.20 °F, cooler in the winter months. Although Kenya is centered at the equator, it shares the seasons of the southern hemisphere: with the warmest summer months in February-March and the coolest winter months in July-August, although only a few degrees cooler.
On the high mountains, such as Mount Kenya, Mount Elgon and Kilimanjaro, the weather can become bitterly cold for most of the year. Some snowfall has occurred on the highest mountains.
| Climate Data for Mombasa (at Indian Ocean) | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOAA Code | Statistic | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Avg | |
| 0101 | Temperature Average F |
81.7 | 82.6 | 82.9 | 81.7 | 79.2 | 76.6 | 75.2 | 75.2 | 76.5 | 78.3 | 80.4 | 81.3 | 79.3 | |
| 0201 | Temperature High value F |
91.8 | 92.7 | 92.7 | 90.5 | 87.6 | 84.9 | 83.7 | 83.8 | 85.5 | 86.9 | 88.9 | 91 | 88.3 | |
| 0301 | Temperature Low value F |
71.6 | 72.5 | 73.2 | 72.9 | 70.9 | 68.2 | 66.7 | 66.7 | 67.5 | 69.6 | 71.8 | 71.6 | 70.3 | |
| 0615 | Precipitation in inches |
1.4 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 6.3 | 9.7 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 3.7 | |
| 0101 | Temperature Average C |
27.6 | 28.1 | 28.3 | 27.6 | 26.2 | 24.8 | 24.0 | 24.0 | 24.7 | 25.7 | 26.9 | 27.4 | 26.27 | |
| 0201 | Temperature High value C |
33.2 | 33.7 | 33.7 | 32.5 | 30.9 | 29.4 | 28.7 | 28.8 | 29.7 | 30.5 | 31.6 | 32.8 | 31.29 | |
| 0301 | Temperature Low value C |
22.0 | 22.5 | 22.9 | 22.7 | 21.6 | 20.1 | 19.3 | 19.3 | 19.7 | 20.9 | 22.1 | 22.0 | 21.26 | |
| 0615 | Precipitation in mm |
33.9 | 14.0 | 55.6 | 154.3 | 246 | 88.3 | 71.8 | 68.2 | 67.2 | 103.4 | 104.7 | 75.8 | 89.39 | |
| 1109 | Humidity Maximum % |
76.0 | 76.0 | 78.0 | 82.0 | 85.0 | 84.0 | 86.0 | 85.0 | 82.0 | 81.0 | 80.0 | 78.0 | 81.08 | |
| 1110 | Humidity Minimum % |
62.0 | 59.0 | 61.0 | 66.0 | 70.0 | 67.0 | 67.0 | 66.0 | 65.0 | 66.0 | 68.0 | 65.0 | 65.17 | |
Read more about this topic: Geography Of Kenya
Famous quotes containing the word climate:
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—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
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—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)