Climate of Ethiopia

Introduction
What is/are:
 weather?
 climate?
 the elements of weather and climate?
 the controls of weather and climate?
 how does the spatiotemporal distribution of temperature and
rainfall look like in Ethiopia?
 what is climate change? What are its causes and consequences?
Cont’d
Weather is:
 the instantaneous or current state of the atmosphere;
 the short lasting and non recurring condition of the atmosphere;
 the atmospheric condition that lasts for a short period of time.
 In general, all the weather changes take place in the troposphere.
Cont’d
Climate refers to:
• the state of the atmosphere that lasts for a long period of time, decades
and more;
• average weather condition of a place;
• It is the composite of daily weather conditions recorded for long
period of time, say for 30 to 35 yeas;
• Climate also takes into account the extremes or variations that may
occur beyond the average conditions.
Cont’d
Elements of weather and climate
• the weather and climate of a place is consisted of:
• temperature: degree of hotness or coldness of the atmosphere;
• precipitation: the moisture that is accumulated on the earth's surface from the
atmosphere in the form of rainfall, snowfall, hailstorm, sleet, drizzle, etc;
• atmospheric pressure: the weight of the overlying air;
• humidity: the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere;
• wind: horizontally moving air; has speed and direction;
• cloudiness: the amount of the sky covered by clouds;
• sun shine: the duration (length of the day) and intensity (strength of the sun's
rays) of the sun.
Cont’d
Measuring Instruments
Elements Measuring Instruments

Temperature (minimum/maximum) Thermometer (minimum (alcohol)/maximum

(mercury))

Precipitation /rainfall Rain gauge

Atmospheric pressure Barometer (mercury or aneroid)
Wind speed Anemometer
Wind direction Wind vane
Humidity Hygrometer (wet bulb and dry bulb thermometers)
Sunshine (duration/intensity) Campbell–Stokes recorders , pyranometer
Cloudiness Cloud Mirror with 8 partitions
Cont’d
Controls of weather and climate
• the different weather conditions that we experience in a certain place is
the result of the impacts of the controls over the elements.
• the major controls are the following.
 latitude: distance from the sun/equator
 altitude: height above sea level
 distance from the sea
 mountain barriers
 ocean currents
 wind
 atmospheric pressure , sunshine, Cloud cover
Cont’d
Latitude
 affects angle of the sun; affects temperature
 overhead sun moves between the tropics of cancer and Capricorn
 OHS is exactly on the equator two days a year on March 21st and September
22nd. These days are called EQUINOXES (equal day and night time.
 March 21st = Vernal (Spring) Equinox
 September 22nd= Autumn Equinox
• OHS is on the Tropic of Cancer on June 21st and on the Tropic of Capricorn on
December 22nd. These days are called SOLSTICE.
 June 21st = Summer Solstice = longest day and shortest night in the
Nn hemisphere
Cont’d
 December 22nd = Winter solstice = longest day and shortest
night in the Sn hemisphere
• the angle at which sun's rays strike the earth affects temperature; the
higher the angle, the higher the temperature under normal
conditions.
Cont’d
Altitude: height above sea level; affects temperature, precipitation (rainfall),
wind, atmospheric pressure,...
 as altitude increases, temperature decreases in the troposphere and
rainfall increases up to a certain limit.
 the rate at which temperature changes with a corresponding change in
altitude is called Lapse Rate. There are two types of Lapse Rate.
 Normal (Environmental/Atmospheric) LR = To change in calm/stable
air = 6.5oC/1000m
 Adiabatic LR = To change in a vertically moving air. It has two types:
 Dry ALR = little moisture content = 10oC/1000m
 Wet ALR = high moisture content = 5oC/1000m
Cont’d
Wind: horizontally moving air; affects To and RF;
 Wet winds bring RF and dry winds bring dryness;
 Warm winds have warming effect while cold winds have cooling
effect.
 There are three types of winds; Planetary (global), Local (valley &
mountain breezes; sea & land breezes) and Monsoon (seasonal)
winds.
 Planetary or global winds affect wider areas of the world while local
and monsoon winds have impact only on the local environments that
they blow.
Cont’d
Ocean current: is the lateral movement of the oceanic water. It affects
To and RF through the winds that blow over it. It is of two types.
 Warm Ocean Currents: confined to the eastern coast of the
continents and have warming and wetting effect on the coastal
landmass;
 Cold Ocean Currents: confined to the western coast of the
continents and have cooling and drying effect on the coastal
landmass.
• Ocean Currents influence the global distribution of temperature.
• Atmospheric Pressure: weight of the overlying air (atmosphere); at
sea level, the weight of the atmosphere is 1 atmosphere = 760mm Hg
= 1013mb.
 Atmospheric pressure affects the direction, speed and global
distribution of planetary winds.
 Winds blow from high to low pressure areas;
 The speed of winds is influenced by pressure gradient (rate of
change of atmospheric pressure); the higher the pressure
gradient, the faster the wind and v.v
 There are seven pressure belts around the world that control the
planetary winds. These are shown in the following figure.
 Spatiotemporal patterns and distribution of
Temperature and Rainfall in Ethiopia and the Horn
A. Spatiotemporal Distribution of Temperature
 affected by Latitude, Altitude (most important), humidity and wind;
i. Spatial distribution: distribution over space;
 temperature decreases as we move from the peripheral lls (≥30oC) to the
central hls (≤ 10oC);
 Bale mountains and Semien mountains are the coldest areas in Ethiopia;
 Afar Depression is the hottest.
ii. Temporal distribution: distribution over time/seasons;
 influenced by latitude (which affects insolation) and cloud cover (which
affects amount of incoming solar radiation);
 daily ranges are higher than annual ranges;
Cont’d
 highest temperature occurs between March and June (due
to Over Head Sun)
 lowest temperature occurs between November and
February (due to low angle of the sun)
 Summer is hot in the Northern Ethiopia;
 Spring and Autumn – high in Southern Ethiopia;
 Winter – Cold in many parts
Cont’d
Cont’d
A. Spatiotemporal Distribution of Rainfall
 affected by:
 ITCZ:- Inter Tropical Convergence Zone where the Northeast and
Southeast Trade & Guinea Monsoon winds meet or converge;
 it is a low pressure area;
 it follows the position of the Over Head Sun;
 it pulls winds towards it.
 Pressure Belts and Cells; and
 Trade Winds and Guinea Monsoon winds (Equatorial Westerlies)
 Rainfall in Ethiopia is Orographic/Relief in origin
Cont’d
A. Spatial Distribution
 lowlands are dry;
 highlands are wet;
 Southwestern Ethiopia is the wettest (Illubabor, Wellega, Keffa,
Jimma, Gamo, Gofa, …; and
 Northeastern Ethiopia is the driest (Afar Triangle)
B. Temporal/Seasonal Distribution
 influenced by the position of the ITCZ and Prevailing winds
Cont’d
 Cont’d
Season Position of the ITCZ Rainfall Receiving Winds Sources of
areas Moisture
Summer (JJA) Moving from the Tropic of All Ethiopia, except Afar Equatorial Westerlies Atlantic Ocean
Cancer to the Equator and Southeastern (Guinea Monsoon)
lowlands

Autumn (SON) Moving from the Equator Southeastern Ethiopia Southeast Trades Indian Ocean
to the Tropic of Capricorn

Winter (DJF) Moving from the Tropic of Driest in many parts, Northeast Trades Asian landmass
Capricorn to the Equator except Afar lowlands and Northern
and Red Sea coast Africa

Spring (MAM) Moving from the Equator Southeastern highlands Southeast Trades Indian Ocean
to the Tropic of Cancer & lowlands and Somalia
Cont’d
Rainfall Regions in Ethiopia
 Based on rainfall seasonality, Ethiopia is divided into four major
rainfall regimes. These are:
i. Summer Rainfall Regions: all Ethiopia, except the Southeastern and
Northeastern Lowlands gets rainfall from Guinea Monsoon winds;
ii. All Year Round Rainfall Region: Southwestern Ethiopia (1400 – 2200
mm/yr);
iii. Autumn (60%) and Spring (40%) Rainfall Region: Southeastern lowlands
(500 -1000 mm/yr)
iv. Winter Rainfall Region: Red Sea escarpment and parts of Afar get little
amount of rainfall from the Northeast Trade winds
Cont’d
Agro-ecological Zones of Ethiopia
 Altitude is a major factor affecting Ethiopia's climate and resulting
in the presence of five major traditional climatic zones in Ethiopia.
 Zones Altitude (m) Mean annual Length of Mean annual Area share
rainfall (mm) growing periods temperature (0C) (%)
(days)
Wurch (cold to moist) >3,200 900-2,200 211–365 Below 10 0.98

Dega (cool to humid) 2,300 - 3,200 900-1,200 121–210 ≥11.5–17.5 9.94

Weyna Dega (cool sub 1,500 - 2300 800-1,200 91–120 >17.5 – 20.0 26.75
humid)
Kola (Warm semiarid) 500 - 1,500 200-800 46–90 >20.0 – 27.5 52.94

Berha (Hot arid) <500 Below 200 0–45 >27.5 9.39