Climate Democratic Republic Of The Congo
Three geographical features define the climate of the DR Congo: the country's large size; its location on the equator; and its great geomorphological diversity linked to relief and different altitudes. The dominant climate is equatorial (hot and humid) in the forest-covered central region of the river basin. And tropical (drier and cooler) in the other half of the territory near the tropics, to the north and south, dominated by savannahs (plateaus and highlands). South of the equator, the rainy season lasts from October to May, and north of the equator from May to December. At the equator, rainfall is relatively constant throughout the year. A Mediterranean-type climate dominates the Great Lakes region to the east. Snow can even be found above 4,000 meters in the Ruwenzori mountain range.
Seasons
Generally speaking, it's hot to very hot all year round in the Congo. The average temperature is 25.2°C. There are two main seasons:
The dry season (or winter season in the tropics, also known as austral winter), characterized by scarce, lower rainfall. North of the equator, this season extends from December to May, and in the southern hemisphere, from May to September. It sees the lowest temperatures. The sky is generally overcast, and vegetation suffers from a lack of water.
The rainy season (or tropical summer season): rainfall is between 1,000 and 1,500 mm and extends from May to November in the third of the country north of the equator, and from September to May in the southern part. The skies are clear and blue, temperatures can reach 35 degrees and vegetation is lush.
Moving towards the mountains of the northeast and southeast, in the high plateaus and mountains of the former Greater Katanga, Kivu and Ituri regions, the climate becomes increasingly pleasant (25°C daytime average).
In Kinshasa, the climate is hot and rainy from October to May, and pleasant from June to September.
"Country-solution" to the climate crisis
The DRC, with its immense natural resources, is committed to becoming a global climate leader, and is presenting itself as a "solution country" to the global climate crisis. The country's leaders signed a new agreement at the Glasgow 2021 Conference organized by the United Nations Climate Organization (COP 26). They secured $500 million in funding for the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), which aims to protect the Congo Basin rainforest until 2031. In addition to the forest component, this partnership is intended to meet the dual challenge of food security and climate change through sustainable agriculture, mainly in the savannahs. And in terms of renewable resources, notably via the DRC's exceptional hydroelectric potential.
Yangambi flow tower
Since 2020, the exceptional Yangambi agricultural research site in Tshopo province has been home to a structure that is unique in the Congo Basin: a 55-metre-high flux tower overlooking the canopy. The tower will help combat global warming and biodiversity loss. By measuring wind direction and speed, and continuously calculating greenhouse gas exchanges between the atmosphere and the forest, scientists can quantify the carbon capacity emitted and sequestered by the Congo Basin forest. 1,400 flow towers exist worldwide, including 12 in Africa.
Peatlands as carbon sinks
The recent discovery by satellite imagery of an area of peat bogs straddling the two Congo Basins represents a major new global climate challenge. The peat in these wetlands contains an estimated 30.6 billion tonnes of carbon trapped underground, over an area the size of England. This is equivalent to what the USA has emitted in carbon emissions over the last twenty years. Preserving these important carbon sinks is therefore a major global challenge. If these wetlands were to dry up and release large quantities of gas into the atmosphere, it would provoke a major environmental catastrophe, with an even greater impact on global warming. As has already happened in the past in Indonesia and Russia.
