Characteristics of Climate of Zambia

This post touches and discusses the topic on the Climate of Zambia, including the seasons, rainfall activities and effect of altitude on the climate.

Zambia’s tropical climate

Zambia lies in the tropical areas near the equator, and therefore has a tropical climate. A tropical climate has the following characteristics:

• Summers have high temperature and rainfalls in the summer.
• The rainfall is usually in the form of thunderstorms.
• Winters have low temperature and have on rainfall.
• Winter temperatures are not as low as in areas further away from the equator, so it does not snow in the tropics (except on some very high mountain peaks, such as mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania)

Seasons in Zambia

• Because of its tropical climate, Zambia does not experience seasonal changes between spring, autumn and winter as in areas further away from the equator. There are three main seasons in Zambia:

1. Hot, dry season (August to November)
2. Rainy season (mid November to April)
3. Cool season (May to August).

Zambia’s temperature and rainfall characteristics

Temperature

Temperatures in different parts of Zambia are influenced by two factors:
• This means the distance away from the equator. It is hotter near the equator because the sun is are more direct throughout the year.
• Example: Mwinilunga is hotter than Lusaka because it is closer to the equator.

Altitude:

• This means how high or low a place is above sea level.
• It is generally cooler at higher altitudes, such as on highlands or mountains, than at low altitudes, such as valleys.
• Example: Mbala lies at a high altitude and is therefore cooler than Chirundu in the low- lying Zambezi valley.

Relationship between altitude and temperature

Town Latitude Altitude Hottest Coldest Mean Annual Annual Temp
month month Temp(°C) Range (°C)
Mwinilunga 11°40’S 1334 22.4 15.8 19.9 6.6
Chirundu 16°39’S 394 30.4 19.8 24.0 10.6
Livingstone 17°59’S 948 27.1 16.2 22.2 10.9
Mbala 8°52’S 1632 22.0 17.5 19.5 4.5

• In terms of temperature, Zambia can generally be divided into two regions: the hot lowland region and the warm highland region.
• However, there are intermediate regions in between these two general region where temperature patterns differ from the general patterns.

Hot lowland region

• Hot low land regions include the Zambezi and Luangwa valleys
• Hot low regions have about 8 months of maximum temperature of over 26°C
• Hot low regions are usually very days and warm nights
• Temperature decreases a little during rainy season, but with high humidity.
• There is a very short period of cool weather.

Warm highland region

• The plateau and highlands areas make up the rest of the country is the warm region.
• Most towns in Zambia fall in this region
• The highland region has generally pleasant climate
• Average annual temperature ranges from 18°C to 21°C.

Effect of climate on human activities

• It affects our health, behavior, eating habits, choice of clothes and recreation
• It affects our farming system as farmers depend on weather factors
• It affect how people live as people wants to live in areas with pleasant weather
• The type of houses people live in are also influenced by climate.
• It affects population distribution, places with good climate are popular and vice versa.