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Namibia is a country of clear blue skies and pleasant climate.
The Climate of Namibia is dry typical of a semi desert country where droughts are a regular occurrence. Days are mostly warm to very hot while nights are generally cool. Average day temperatures in the summer vary from 20ºC – 34ºC, dropping at night to about 18ºC, sometimes as low as 8ºC. In the winter, average day temperatures vary from 18ºC – 22ºC and average night temperatures from 0ºC – 10ºC.
Namibia is the most arid country in Southern Africa. Arid and semi arid, changing to subtropical in the far north east of the country. The humidity is less than 10% during the winter months and varying from 50% to 80% during the summer.
The Climate of Namibia is as such that, except for the southern-western areas where winter rainfall occurs, rain usually falls in the summer months between October and May, with a short rainy season in November. The main rainy season is from January to March.
The hottest months are from November to February (average temperatures, 20-36 degree celsius). The colder months are between May and August (average temperatures, 6-10 degree celsius in the mornings and 18-22 degree celsius during the day).
Rain is scarce and falls mainly in summer. The average rainfall of the country is 250 millimetres a year, although in the north and northeast it rains more up to 600 millimetres a year in the Caprivi. Rainfall figures decline westwards to between 5 and 20 millimetres at the coast, where precipitation from fog is more than the annual rainfall. The far south-western areas receive rain during winter.
Namibia has twelve westerly flowing epheral rivers. The northernmost of these is th Khumib, followed by the mighty Hoarusib, the Hoanib, Uniab, Koigab, Huab, Ugab, Omaruru, Swakop, Kuiseb, Tsondab and Tsauchab. The last mentioned two are further south and no longer reach the sea; the Tsondab ends at the Tsondabvlei and the Tsauchab at the Sossusvlei.
The contours of the escarpment run roughly parallel with the coastline, while the river courses follow the shortest possible route to the coast, crossing the contours virtually perpendicularly. The riparian forests sustained by these rivers dissect the arid landscape and contrast sharply with the starkness of the surrounding mountain, rock and sand desert. Occasional floods bring moisture, nutrients and seeds from higher-lying areas and thus sustain these riverine forests.
The makalani is a tall, graceful palm, which reache heights of between seven and ten metres. Although these palms are normally found north of Grootfontein, seeds are washed down the ephemeral riverbeds with the flood, or are deposited by elephant and other game at suitable spots, such as waterholes. These seeds then take root and grow.
The Namibian environmental policy is founded on various international conventions to which Namibia is a signatory. These include the Convention on Climate Change and the Biodiversity Convention, both of which were signed at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. in 1993 Namibia signed the Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer which commits signatories to limit ozone depleting substances. This was followed by the signing of the Desertification Convention in 1994 and the Ramsar Convention for the protection of wetlands of international importance for birds in 1995. The Etosha pan, the Walvis Bay lagoon, Sandwich Harbour, the orange River mouth and the Kunene River mouth have so far been declared Ramsar sites.
Nonetheless, the Climate of Namibia can deliver quite a few surprises! We met some tourists who wore skimpy summer clothing while the temperatures where close to freezing point. On other occasions, tourists were wearing thick winter wear while it was extremely hot. Always be prepared for any weather conditions, especially in the coastal areas where you can experience all four seasons in one day.
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