If I would ask you, what would be your first associations when you hear ‘Tanzania’? Images of wild animals, poverty and heat might come to mind.
Like no other continent, Africa has been perceived more as one homogenous county rather than the culturally and environmentally diverse continent that it is. Continents have vast landscapes and climates, and so while over one third of Africa is covered by desert and wide sand areas, the weather can fluctuate quite a lot and can make for some chilly days and especially nights. Tanzania is no exception, and leads to a variety of different weather conditions.
Tanzania’s climate
While there are no deserts regions in Tanzania itself, there are plenty different areas where the climate changes, depending on closeness to the water, elevation, and time of the year.
Altitude of Tanzania
Being located at an average elevation of over 1,000 meters above sea level, Tanzania is comparatively high, which can cause for the chillier weather.
Coastline
Located on the Eastern Coast of Africa, next to the Indian Ocean, the coastline Tanzania’s stretches over 1,400km long with breath-taking beaches, white sand, and turquoise water right out of a dream. The weather here usually stays rather hot with a high humidity. The rainfall here is quite heavy, especially during the rainy seasons.
Mountains
The temperature on the mountain tops of Mount Meru and especially the highest mountain Africa’s, Mount Kilimanjaro can change quite a bit. Of strong influence are here the altitude rather than time of day. Especially closer to the summit on Mount Kilimanjaro, snow fall is the norm!
Wet and Dry Seasons in Tanzania
The dry and wet seasons in Tanzania can be divided in in three parts:
Ø Masika: The Long Rains (March to May)
The months are characterized by heavy tropical downpours, with high humidity and temperatures ranging within the low-mid 30°s.
Ø The Dry Season (May to October)
Dominated by cooler temperatures, the dry season can get quite cold, especially during the night. In June and July as the coldest you can expect temperatures as low as 5 to 10 degrees at night. During the day it warms up to 20 – 25 degrees.
Ø Vuli: Short Rains (November to January)
This rain is much lighter and less predictable than the heavy rain season.
The weather is rather mild with 15 – 25 degrees.
Light rain can be expected each day.
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