What is the average temperature in Congo?
Over most of the country, annual average temperatures range between the high 60s and low 80s F (low and high 20s C), although in the south the cooling effect of the Benguela Current may produce temperatures as low as the mid-50s F (low 10s C). The average daily humidity is about 80 percent.
Is the Congo rainforest hot or cold?
Climate ranges from tropical rain forest in the Congo River basin to tropical wet-and-dry in the southern uplands to tropical highland in eastern areas above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) in elevation. In general, temperatures and humidity are quite high.
What is the temperature in rainforests?
The rainforest biome remains warm all year and must stay frost-free. The average daily temperatures range from 20°C (68°F) to 25°C (77°F).
What is the climate of the Congo Basin?
The Congo Basin is naturally warm and humid, and experiences only two seasons: the rainy season from March to November and the dry season from December to February. The Congo Basin is of vital importance on a global and local scale.
What is the coldest temperature in the Congo rainforest?
Temperatures range between 20° and 27° C, although near some river tributaries, the area cools to as low as 12° C.
What is the weather and climate like in Congo?
In the Republic of Congo, an African country crossed by the Equator, the climate is equatorial (hot and humid all year round, with no real dry season) in the north, and tropical (hot and humid, with a dry and cooler season in winter) in the center and south.
Why do tropical rainforests have high temperatures?
Temperature: Tropical rainforests are found near the equator, between the Tropic of Cancer (23°27’N) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23°27’S). The equator receives direct sunlight. This steady flow of radiation produces consistently high temperatures throughout the year.
What is the weather of tropical rainforest?
The average temperature in tropical rainforests ranges from 70 to 85°F (21 to 30°C). The environment is pretty wet in tropical rainforests, maintaining a high humidity of 77% to 88% year-round. The yearly rainfall ranges from 80 to 400 inches (200 to 1000 cm), and it can rain hard.
Why is the climate of Congo wet and hot?
The rains occur in the form of downpour or thunderstorm (Congo is the country that receives the greatest number of lightning strikes in the world), usually in the afternoon, all year round in the equatorial zone, and in the long rainy season in the two tropical areas.
What plants are in the Congo rainforest?
Among these, mahogany, ebony, limba, wenge, agba, iroko, and sapele provide timber. Fibrous plants include raffia and sisal. There are also plants used in traditional medicine, including cinchona (the source of quinine) and rauwolfia (an emetic and antihypertensive), as well as copal, rubber, and palm trees.
Why does Congo have a hot and wet climate?
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), a huge country in central Africa, the climate is equatorial, hot and humid all year round with no dry season, in the central area crossed by the equator where there is a vast rain forest (the second in the world after the Amazon), or tropical, hot all year round …
How does temperature affect the tropical rainforest?
Studies in the Amazon River basin predict that a rise in temperature corresponds with a 10-20 percent reduction in rainfall. Tropical rainforests typically get more than 100 inches of rain a year, but each year this number decreases — creating a chain effect of consequences.
What are the flora and fauna of the Congo Basin?
Flora The Congo Basin represents 70% of the African continents plant cover and makes up a large portion of Africa’s biodiversity with over 1,000 tree species and 10,000 animal species. It is characterized by dense rainforest. Broad-leaved trees, such as the African Oak.
What kind of climate does the Congo Rainforest have?
Tropical rainforests grow only in areas where rainfall, temperatures and humidity is high throughout the year. The congo has the Equator running through the country and it makes the Congo climate is warm and humid and it has two main seasons: one long rainy season and a dry season with a little less rain.
How much carbon does the Congo rainforest store?
The Congo Rainforest makes up 18% of the world’s remaining rainforest. Congo Basin forests soak up approximately 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide each year and store one-third more carbon over the same land area than the Amazon. Congo River map. Image credit: Kmusser/Wikimedia Commons
What are the causes of deforestation in the Congo?
Over the past 30 years, some of the biggest causes of deforestation in the Congo rainforest have been agriculture, mining, and urban expansion. In addition, the increase in logging has opened up many areas of the Congo to commercial hunting, which has increased access to remote areas of the forest, leading to a severe poaching problem.