 | |
| Continent | Africa |
|---|---|
| Region | East Africa |
| Coordinates | 1°00′N38°00′E / 1.000°N 38.000°E /1.000; 38.000 |
| Area | Ranked 48th |
| • Total | 580,367 km2 (224,081 sq mi) |
| • Land | 98.07% |
| • Water | 1.93% |
| Coastline | 490 km (300 mi) |
| Borders | 3,446 km (2,141 mi) |
| Highest point | Mount Kenya 5,197 metres (17,051 ft) |
| Lowest point | Indian Ocean 0 metres (0 ft) |
| Longest river | Tana River (Kenya) (wholly within Kenya) 800 km (500 mi) |
| Largest lake | Lake Turkana 6,405 km2 (2,473 sq mi) |
| Exclusive economic zone | 116,942 km2 (45,152 sq mi) |
TheGeography ofKenya is diverse, varying amongst its47 counties. Kenya has a coastline on theIndian Ocean, which contains swamps ofEast African mangroves. Inland are broad plains and numerous hills. Kenya bordersSouth Sudan to the northwest,Uganda to the west,Somalia to the east,Tanzania to the south, andEthiopia to the north. Kenya currently faces border disputes with South Sudan over the Ilemi Triangle and with Somalia over Jubbaland where, if the Somalian Government gives it up, it could be a new part of Kenya, which would bring the total land area of Kenya to approximately 692,939 km2.
Central and Western Kenya is characterized by theKenyan Rift Valley and central Province home to thehighest mountain,Mount Kenya andMount Elgon on the border betweenKenya andUganda. TheKakamega Forest in western Kenya is a relic of an East African rainforest. Much bigger isMau Forest, the largest forest complex inEast Africa.
Much of the western two-thirds of the country consists of thePliocene–Pleistocenevolcanics deposited onPrecambrian basement rocks.[2] The southeast corner of the country is underlain by sediments of theKaroo System ofPermian toLate Triassic age and a strip ofJurassic age sediments along the coast in theMombasa area.[2] TheAnza trough is a NW–SE trending Jurassic rift extending from the Indian Ocean coast to the Sudan northwest of Lake Turkana. The Anza Rift resulted from the break–up ofGondwana.[2][3]
The climate of Kenya varies by location, from mostly cool every day, to always warm/hot by mid afternoon.[4][5][6] The climate along the coast is tropical. This means rainfall and temperatures are higher than inland throughout the year. At the coastal cities,Mombasa,Lamu andMalindi, the air temperature changes from cool to hot, almost every day. (See chart below).[6]
The further inland one is in Kenya, the more arid the climate becomes. An extremely arid climate is nearly devoid of rainfall, and temperature varies widely according to the general time of the day/night. For many areas of Kenya, the daytime temperature rises about 12 °C (corresponding to a rise of about 22 °F), almost every day.[4][5][6]
Elevation is the major factor in temperature levels, with the higher areas, on average, about 11 °C (20 °F) cooler, day or night.[4][5][6] The many cities over a kilometre in elevation have temperature swings from roughly 10–26 °C (50–79 °F). Nairobi, at 1,798 m (5,899 ft), ranges from 9–27 °C (49–80 °F),[4] andKitale, at 1,825 m (5,988 ft), ranges from 11–28 °C (51–82 °F).[5] At night, heavy clothes or blankets are needed, in the highlands, when the temperature drops to about 10–12 °C (50–54 °F) every night.
At lower altitudes, the increased temperature is like day and night, literally: like starting the morning at the highland daytime high, and then adding the heat of the day, again. Hence, the overnight low temperatures near sea level are nearly the same as the high temperatures of the elevated Kenyan highlands. However, locations along the Indian Ocean have more moderate temperatures, as a few degrees cooler in the daytime, such as atMombasa (see chart below).
There are slight seasonal variations in temperature, of 4 °C or 7.2 °F,[4][5][6] cooler in the winter months. Although Kenya is centred at theequator, it shares the seasons of theSouthern Hemisphere: with the warmest summer months in December–March and the coolest winter months in June–August, again with differences in temperature varying by location within the country.[4][5][6]
On the high mountains, such asMount Kenya,Mount Elgon andKilimanjaro, the weather can become bitterly cold for most of the year. Some snowfall occurs on the highest mountains.
| Climate data for Mombasa (at Indian Ocean)[6] | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOAA Code | Statistic | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Avg | |
| 0101 | Temperature Average F | 81.7 | 82.6 | 82.9 | 81.7 | 79.2 | 76.6 | 75.2 | 75.2 | 76.5 | 78.3 | 80.4 | 81.3 | 79.3 | |
| 0201 | Temperature High value F | 91.8 | 92.7 | 92.7 | 90.5 | 87.6 | 84.9 | 83.7 | 83.8 | 85.5 | 86.9 | 88.9 | 91 | 88.3 | |
| 0301 | Temperature Low value F | 71.6 | 72.5 | 73.2 | 72.9 | 70.9 | 68.2 | 66.7 | 66.7 | 67.5 | 69.6 | 71.8 | 71.6 | 70.3 | |
| 0615 | Precipitation in inches[6] | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 6.3 | 9.7 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 3.7 | |
| 0101 | Temperature Average C | 27.6 | 28.1 | 28.3 | 27.6 | 26.2 | 24.8 | 24.0 | 24.0 | 24.7 | 25.7 | 26.9 | 27.4 | 26.27 | |
| 0201 | Temperature High value C | 33.2 | 33.7 | 33.7 | 32.5 | 30.9 | 29.4 | 28.7 | 28.8 | 29.7 | 30.5 | 31.6 | 32.8 | 31.29 | |
| 0301 | Temperature Low value C | 22.0 | 22.5 | 22.9 | 22.7 | 21.6 | 20.1 | 19.3 | 19.3 | 19.7 | 20.9 | 22.1 | 22.0 | 21.26 | |
| 0615 | Precipitation in mm[6] | 33.9 | 14.0 | 55.6 | 154.3 | 246 | 88.3 | 71.8 | 68.2 | 67.2 | 103.4 | 104.7 | 75.8 | 89.39 | |
| 1109 | Humidity Maximum % | 76.0 | 76.0 | 78.0 | 82.0 | 85.0 | 84.0 | 86.0 | 85.0 | 82.0 | 81.0 | 80.0 | 78.0 | 81.08 | |
| 1110 | Humidity[6] Minimum % | 62.0 | 59.0 | 61.0 | 66.0 | 70.0 | 67.0 | 67.0 | 66.0 | 65.0 | 66.0 | 68.0 | 65.0 | 65.17 | |
Climate change is posing an increasing threat to global socioeconomic development and environmental sustainability.[10] Developing countries with low adaptive capacity and high vulnerability to the phenomenon are disproportionately affected.Climate change in Kenya is increasingly impacting the lives ofKenya's citizens and theenvironment.[10] Climate change has led to more frequentextreme weather events like droughts which last longer than usual, irregular and unpredictable rainfall, flooding and increasing temperatures.
The effects of these climatic changes have made already existing challenges withwater security,food security and economic growth even more difficult. Harvests and agricultural production which account for about 33%[11] of totalGross Domestic Product (GDP)[12] are also at risk. The increased temperatures,rainfall variability inarid andsemi-arid areas, and strongwinds associated withtropicalcyclones have combined to create favourable conditions for the breeding andmigration of pests.[13] An increase in temperature of up to 2.5 °C by 2050 is predicted to increase the frequency of extreme events such asfloods anddroughts.[10]
Hot and dry conditions inArid andSemi-Arid Lands (ASALs) makedroughts orflooding brought on by extremeweather changes even more dangerous. Coastal communities are already experiencingsea level rise and associated challenges such assaltwater intrusion.[10]Lake Victoria,Lake Turkana and other lakes have significantly increased in size between 2010 and 2020[14] flooding lakeside communities.[15] All these factors impact at-risk populations like marginalized communities, women and the youth.[12]
Kenya's terrain is composed of low plains that rise into central highlands that are, in turn, bisected by theGreat Rift Valley. There is also a fertile plateau in the west of the country.
The lowest point on Kenya is at sea level on the Indian Ocean. The highest point on Kenya is 5,199 meters above sea level atMount Kenya.
The notable rivers in Kenya are theAthi-Galana-Sabaki River, which at a total length of about 390 kilometers while draining an area of about 70,000 square kilometers, is the second longest river in the country, theTana River, the longest river in the country at a total length of just over 1000 kilometers, covering a catchment area of over 100,000 square kilometers, and theNzoia River, which is a 257-kilometre-long (160 mi) river, rising fromMount Elgon, which flows south.
Natural resources that are found in Kenya include: limestone, soda ash, salt,gemstones,fluorite,zinc,diatomite, oil, titanium, gas, gold,gypsum,wildlife andhydropower.
9.8% of the land is arable; permanent crops occupy 0.9% of the land, permanent pasture occupies 37.4% of the land; forest occupies 6.1% of the land. Other uses make up the rest of Kenya's land. This is as of 2011.
1,032 km2 of Kenyan land was irrigated in 2003.
30.7 km3 (2011)
Natural hazards include recurring drought and flooding during the rainy seasons.
There is limited volcanic activity in the country.Barrier Volcano (elev. 1,032 m) last erupted in 1921. Several others have been historically active (seeList of volcanoes in Kenya).
Current issues that threaten the environment at the moment include water pollution from urban and industrial wastes; degradation of water quality from the increased use of pesticides and fertilisers;deforestation;water hyacinth infestation inLake Victoria;soil erosion;desertification; and poaching.
This is a list of the extreme points ofKenya, the points that are further north, south, east or west than any other location.
Medium-range estimates of Arctic carbon emissions could result from moderate climate emission mitigation policies that keep global warming below 3°C (e.g., RCP4.5). This global warming level most closely matches country emissions reduction pledges made for the Paris Climate Agreement...
"The IPCC doesn't make projections about which of these scenarios is more likely, but other researchers and modellers can.The Australian Academy of Science, for instance, released a report last year stating that our current emissions trajectory had us headed for a 3°C warmer world, roughly in line with the middle scenario.Climate Action Tracker predicts 2.5 to 2.9°C of warming based on current policies and action, with pledges and government agreements taking this to 2.1°C.
