Weather and climate of Madagascar

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

The weather in Madagascar varies and depends on the location of a particular area of the island. The average annual air temperature on the coast is 26 °C. In the metropolitan area, it is lower and barely reaches 18 ° C. It is believed that the hottest parts of the island are Bemaraha and the western tip. The thermometer in these parts reaches 34 ° C.

General characteristics

The climate of Madagascar is characterized by pronounced monsoonal and tropical features. As such, there are no long rainy seasons on the island. The coldest regions are located in the mountains. Frosts occur at the tops of the ridges. The weather in these parts is strikingly different from that which prevails on the African continent. It is formed by anticyclones coming from India and air masses coming from Southeast Asia.

Seasons

The climate of Madagascar is characterized by four seasons. The average daily winter temperature is 24 °C. At the same time, the ocean area warms up to 30 °C. Hot days are accompanied by heavy rains. Showers go in the eastern part of the island. There is a high level of humidity in the center. And only in the south it almost always shines in Januarybright sun.

In spring, the ocean cools. He begins to worry, and the volume of plankton increases noticeably. Easy prey attracts schools of predatory fish to the aquazone of the coast. From March to mid-May, it continues to rain in the east and in the center of the island. In these parts of Madagascar, the climate differs from the weather in the resorts with an abundance of foggy days.

Summer nights in the capital of the island are cool. The air cools down to 10 °C. Rains are replaced by strong winds that attract hundreds of windsurfers to the coast. In August, lagoons far from tourist recreations become the venue for the mating games of whales.

In autumn it rains again, the sky is covered with gray clouds. The relatively dry period lasts until the end of October. The climate of Madagascar during the off-season is characterized by an abundance of precipitation.

Factors

The variety of temperature regimes is explained by the geographical position of the island. It is located between 12 and 25 ° south latitude. In this place, the transition from dry subtropics to wet equatorial conditions is most pronounced. Plus, the mountain ranges that divide the island are perpendicular to the vector of weather-forming cyclones. Open areas are not protected from the impact of wet monsoon currents that come from the Indian Ocean.

The description of the climate of Madagascar confirms that the part of the island closed from the winds does not receive such a volume of precipitation. Winds blowing from the African continent are characterized by a minimum concentration of moisture. The mosaic structure of temperature zones is due tothe length of the island. Even the weather conditions of the open coastal regions that occupy the opposite ends of Madagascar have a lot of differences. The air temperature difference can reach 5 °C.

Regional specifics

The climate of the island of Madagascar in the north has a pronounced equatorial character. The maximum air temperatures in this part of the land fall in March and December. The closer to the south, the more moderate it becomes with one temperature maximum, which is observed in January.

In the west, heavy rains contribute to the formation of weather conditions. In the vicinity of Majunga, the humidity level reaches its maximum in December. Winter precipitation provokes a significant decrease in air temperature. The most sultry region on the island is traditionally considered the Bemaraha plateau.

The higher the mountains rise, the colder it becomes on their slopes. When in Toamasina the thermometer shows 24 °C, in Antananarivo it stays at 17 °C. Frosts are possible in Andringitra, which are accompanied by snowfall. According to Mohr's classification, meteorologists distinguish five modes of climatic conditions that operate on the island:

• too wet;
• moderately humid;
• not wet enough;
• moderately dry;
• dry.

Too wet

Description of the climate of the island of Madagascar of this typewe should start with the fact that it is typical for regions that are located in the east. In the area of the settlements of Antalaha and Maruancenter, up to 2,000 mm of precipitation falls annually. As such, there is practically no dry season, its maximum length is three weeks. High in the mountains, this parameter reaches two months. The average annual temperature is 24 °C.

To give a comprehensive characterization and description of the climate of the island of Madagascar, draw up a diagram based on the geographical location of the main zones. The hottest days are observed in areas that are located at low altitudes. Cold winds prevail on the slopes in the Tsaratanan region. A similar temperature regime prevails in the Marudzezi region, as well as in the Ankaratra region.

Wet

Any plan for describing the climate of Madagascar includes a paragraph that tells about the weather in the Sambiranu region. The area, which belongs to the humid type, stretches to the coast of the Gulf of Vuhemar. It also includes the eastern zone of the High Plateau. In this part of the island, the average annual rainfall reaches 2,000 mm. The dry season is pronounced and long. It lasts about half a year.

The average air temperature in the mountains is 14 °С, in the lowlands it reaches 26 °С. The hottest areas are located on the coast of the ocean. It is relatively cool in Antananarivo. Night frosts are possible in the vicinity of Antsirabe.

Not wet enough

This type of Madagascar climate, according to Mora's plan and classification, prevails in the western part and northern region of the island. Toit includes the western tip of the High Plateau. The average annual rainfall in these parts reaches 1,500 mm. The dry season is pronounced. It lasts over six months. The average temperature minimum is 17 °C, the maximum reaches 28 °C.

Moderate dry

This type is inherent in the lands of the Cap d'Ambre peninsula, the southern and southwestern regions of Madagascar. The maximum amount of precipitation is 900 mm. The duration of the dry period exceeds seven months. The average annual temperature of the atmosphere is 25 °C. The absolute record was 44 °С.

Droughty

To the territory where the arid type of climate operates, the areas of Murumbe, Sainte-Marie and the surroundings of Tulear belong. In these places, up to 350 mm of precipitation falls annually, but the rains are irregular. The average air temperature is 26 °C. But the atmosphere can warm up to 40 °C. Such hot days are characteristic of the thirty-kilometer strip of coastline that stretches from Tulear to Murumbe.

Shrubs grow in this part of the island, among which there are tree-like representatives of the Euphorbiaceae and Didereaceae families. In the vicinity of Cape Sainte-Marie, the trees took on a horizontal position. Together they form a unique carpet of closely intertwined trunks. Tropical cyclones are considered the main destructive factor that causes great damage to coastal flora.

Animal world

Approximately half of all mammal species that live in Madagascar,recognized as endemic. We are talking about fosses, viverras, tenrecs and lemurs. The latter are the hallmark of the island. The land is inhabited by more than a hundred species of birds. There are dozens of breeds of turtles, day geckos and chameleons.