Climate

Ghana’s climate, like that of the rest of the Guinea Coast, is determined largely by the interplay
of two air masses: a hot, dry continental air mass that forms over the Sahara and a warm, humid
maritime tropical air mass that forms over the South Atlantic. Both air masses move toward the
Equator with their hemispheric winds and meet at the Guinea Coast for several months each
year. Continental air moves southward with the northeast trade winds, known in western Africa
as the harmattan, and maritime tropical air moves northward with the southwest trades. The zone
where these air masses converge is characterized by seasonal line squall precipitation. The
convergence zone itself oscillates north and south, following the seasonal movements of the
overhead sun and the thermal equator; it reaches its most northerly position in the central Sahara,
about latitude 21° N, in August, and its most southerly position about 7° N, a few miles north of
the Ghana coastline, in January. Rains occur when the dominant air mass is maritime tropical,
and drought prevails when continental air and the harmattan dominate.