Climate

• The Equatorial Area: Characterized by abundant rain fall, high and stable temperatures and degrading vegetation as we move away from the Equator. The central highlands and south are distinguished with four well-marked seasons: the rainy season (March to June), short dry season (July and August). Rainy season (September to November), large dry season (December to February).

• The Occidental Area: (Coastal mountains of southwest and western highlands) with excessive rainfall occurring during 9 straight months (from March to November).

• The tropical Area: With high temperatures and low rainfall type or Sudanese (a rainy season from May to October and a dry season from November to April) or Sahelian, is marked by very irregular rainfall, but absent from December to March.

Cameroon climate is highly on the geographical location of the country. The geographical coordinates of the country are 6.00 N and 12.00 E. The climate of Cameroon also depends on the physical geography of the country.

The climate of the coastal region is different from that of the mountains. The two distinct climatic area of this country are the northern and the southern regions.

Cameroon Climate shows that the average temperature of the coastal plain ranges from 22 degree to 29 degrees Celsius. The coastal area receive 250 to 400 cm rainfall, while the inland area receives 150 to 250 cm rainfall. The Mt. Cameroon receives 600 to 900 cm rainfall in a year.

According to the climate in Cameroon, the southern part has got two dry seasons from November to March and June to August. The climate of the northern part is comparatively comfortable. The temperature varies from 23 degrees to 26 degrees Celsius. This central plateau receives 150 cm to 60 cm rainfall a year. The dry season of this region continues from October to March.

AVERAGE TEMPERATURES OF SOME MAJOR CITIES:

Yaounde (Center Region)

The table below displays average monthly climate indicators in YAOUNDE based on 8 years of historical weather readings.

Temperature by: Fahrenheit / Centigrade

YAOUNDE 3.83 N, 11.51 E, 2,493 feet (760 meters) above sea level.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg. Temperature	75	77	76	75	76	73	72	71	71	72	73	74
Avg. Max Temperature	84	85	85	83	82	79	77	77	78	80	81	83
Avg. Min Temperature	68	70	68	69	69	68	67	67	66	66	67	68
Avg. Rain Days	0	0	1	2	2	3	1	3	5	4	2	0
Avg. Snow Days	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Douala (Coastal region)

The table below displays average monthly climate indicators in DOUALA based on 8 years of historical weather readings.

Temperature by: Fahrenheit / Centigrade

DOUALA 4.0 N, 9.73 E, 29 feet (9 meters) above sea level.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg. Temperature	81	82	82	81	80	79	77	76	77	78	80	80
Avg. Max Temperature	90	91	91	89	89	86	83	82	84	86	88	89
Avg. Min Temperature	75	76	75	74	74	73	72	73	73	73	74	74
Avg. Rain Days	1	1	3	4	7	8	12	14	12	9	3	0
Avg. Snow Days	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Ngaoundere (North Region)

The table below displays average monthly climate indicators in NGAOUNDERE based on 8 years of historical weather readings.

Temperature by: Fahrenheit / Centigrade

NGAOUNDERE 7.35 N, 13.56 E, 3,622 feet (1104 meters) above sea level.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg. Temperature	70	72	76	74	72	71	70	69	69	70	69	69
Avg. Max Temperature	86	88	90	87	83	82	79	79	80	82	85	85
Avg. Min Temperature	52	55	61	65	64	63	63	63	62	61	53	50
Avg. Rain Days	0	0	0	3	5	5	11	10	6	2	0	0
Avg. Snow Days	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Maroua (Extreme North Region)

The table below displays average monthly climate indicators in MAROUA-SALAK based on eight years of historical weather readings.

Temperature by: Fahrenheit / Centigrade

MAROUA 10.45 N, 14.25 E, 1,384 feet (422 meters) above sea level.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg. Temperature	77	81	89	92	90	84	81	79	79	84	82	78
Avg. Max Temperature	89	93	101	102	100	93	88	86	89	95	94	90
Avg. Min Temperature	64	68	76	79	79	75	72	71	71	72	68	64
Avg. Rain Days	0	0	0	0	1	4	3	4	2	0	0	0
Avg. Snow Days	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

TO REMEMBER

Location: Central Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria

Geographic coordinates: 6.00 N, 12.00 E

Area

Total: 475,440 sq km

Land: 472,710 sq km

Water: 2,730 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly larger than California

Land boundaries

Total: 4,591 km

Border countries: Central African Republic 797 km, Chad 1,094 km, Republic of the Congo 523 km, Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298 km, Nigeria 1,690 km

Coastline: 402 km

Maritime claims

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Contiguous zone: 24 nm

Climate: varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north

Terrain: diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, and plains in north.

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

Highest point: Fako 4,095 m (on Mt. Cameroon)

Natural resources: petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower

Land use:

• Arable land: 13.04%

• Permanent crops: 2.94%

• Other: 84.01% (2011)

Irrigated land: 256.5 sq. km (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 285.5 cu km (2011)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

• Total: 0.97 cu km/yr. (23%/10%/68%)

• Per capita: 58.9 cu m/yr. (2005)

Natural hazards: volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes

Volcanism: Mt. Cameroon (elev. 4,095 m), which last erupted in 2000, is the most frequently active volcano in West Africa; lakes in Oku volcanic field have released fatal levels of gases on occasion, killing some 1,700 people in 1986.

Environment - current issues: Waterborne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing

Environment - international agreements

Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling.

Signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: Sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa; throughout the country there are areas of thermal springs and indications of current or prior volcanic activity; Mount Cameroon, the highest mountain in Sub-Saharan West Africa, is an active volcano.

Nature

Cameroon's coastal plain extends 10 to 50 miles (16 to 80 km) inland from the Gulf of Guinea (part of the Atlantic Ocean) to the edge of a plateau. In the former western state, however, the mass of Mount Cameroon reaches almost to the sea. The plain is densely forested including areas of Central African mangroves especially around Douala and in the estuary of the Cross River on the border with Nigeria.

The low South Cameroon Plateau, rising from the coastal plain and dominated by tropical rain forest, has an average elevation of 1,500 to 2,000 feet (457 to 610 m). It is less humid than the coast.

In western Cameroon it’s an irregular chain of trees, white waters, and six flags that extend from Mount Cameroon almost to Lake Chad at the southern tip of the country. This region includes the Bamenda, Bamiléké, and Mambilla highlands. It also contains some of the country's most fertile soils, notably around volcanic Mt. Cameroon. This area of tropical forest has been categorised by the World Wildlife Fund as the Cameroonian Highlands forests ecoregion with Mount Cameroon considered separately because as an active volcano it has a distinct environment from the other mountains.

From the forested southern plateau the land rises northward to the grassy, rugged Adamaoua (Adamawa) highlands. Stretching across Cameroon from the western mountain area, the Adamaoua forms a barrier between the north and south. Its average elevation is 3,400 feet (1,036 m).

The northern savanna plain extends from the edge of the Adamaoua to Lake Chad. Its characteristic vegetation is scrub and grass. This region of sparse rainfall and high median temperatures has been included as part of the East Sudanian savanna ecoregion.

Topography Cameroon