Contenus

• Climate Fact Sheet DRC

  The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) lies within the equatorial region where the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is the major dominant of the climate. In the equatorial climate zone (Af) near the Equator temperatures are high (annual average for Yangambi 24.6°C), humidity is high and it rains throughout the year with an average between 1600 and 2000 mm. The tropical climate (Am, Aw) zones, situated north and south of the equatorial zone, still have warm temperatures but show more seasonal variation and distinct dry and rainy seasons connected to the annual cycle of the ITCZ. The dry seasons last usually from April to October in the south and from November to March in the North, depending also on the distance from the Equator. Along the west coast a small zone is characterized by an oceanic climate (Cfb) due to the cold Benguela Current. Here, temperature and precipitation amounts (around 800 mm) are significantly lower than in the rest of the country. The highlands in the east of the country lie outside the path of the ITCZ and are subject to the influence of the southeastern trade winds. Here also temperate climates (Cf, Cw) prevail, with snow occurring in the highest altitudes.