Climate is the atmospheric condition of a place over a long period of time.
Factors affecting the climate of Africa are:
- Latitude
- Altitude
- Distance from the sea or ocean
- Ocean currents
- Planetary winds and pressure belts
- Slope and aspect
- Cloud cover
- Vegetation
TYPES OF CLIMATE IN AFRICA
- The Equatorial Hot Climate: This is found in the Zaire Basin of Central Africa and in the coast of West Africa (except Ghana).
- The Tropical Continental (Sudan) Climate: It is found in West Africa and curves southwards into East Africa and Southern Africa.
- The Mediterranean Climate: It is found in the horns or tips of Africa in South Western part of South Africa(Cape Town) and in the North Western part of Africa(Morroco, Algeria and Tunisia).
- The Hot Desert Climate
- The Warm Temperate Eastern Margin
- The Temperate Continental (Steppe) Climate
EVALUATION
- Define climate.
- State the elements of climate.
- Mention the types of climate in Africa.
VEGETATION OF AFRICA
The vegetation of Africa include the following
- Tropical rain forest
- Tropical savanna(grassland)
- The mediterranean vegetation
- Desert vegetation
- Temperate grassland
- Montane vegetation
GENERAL EVALUATION
- What is climate?
- Mention four elements of climate.
- Mention the vegetation types in Africa.
- State the features of tropical rain forest.
- Mention three features of grassland vegetation.
WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT
- Lines joining places with equal degree of cloudiness is (a) isotherm (b) isohel (c) isoneph
(d) isoyet
- Trees in savanna region develop the following adaptations to enable them survive the long dry season except (a) shallow roots (b) long taproots (c) thick barks (d) thin leaves
- Isotherm is to temperature as ______ is to pressure (a) isohaline (b) isohel (c) isobar
(d) isoneph
- The Sahel savanna vegetation is predominantly found in (a) Cote d’ivoire (b) Mauritania
(c) Morocco (d) Sierra Leone
- Xerophytic plants are usually associated with (a) regions of heavy rainfall (b) water logging (c) areas of low rainfall (d) windward part of a highland
THEORY
On the map of Africa, locate the different climatic types.
See also
AFRICA: RELIEF AND DRAINAGE
AFRICA: LOCATION, POSITION, SIZE AND POLITICAL DIVISION
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS)
GEO-POLITICAL ISSUES: LAND RECLAMATION
SETTLEMENT INTERACTIONS