Afrique du Sud

The Republic of South Africa, the southernmost African country, extends from 22° to 34° south latitude, and it's covered in large part by a plateau, which tempers the summer heat but cools the winter nights. Apart from the southern coastline, the country is usually more arid in the west than in the east.

In Cape Town, the average temperature ranges from 12°C in July to 21°C in January and February. The summer temperatures are not excessively high because of the influence of the ocean, though sometimes a hot and dry wind called Berg, able to raise the temperature to around 35°C, blows from the mountains. On the contrary, a strong southern breeze called Cape Doctor often blows in summer, cooling and cleaning the air. Above the top of Table Mountain, the flat-topped mountain overlooking the city, about a thousand meters high, a layer of clouds often forms, which the city's inhabitants call in a colloquial manner "tablecloth".

The west coast of South Africa is affected by the Benguela Current, which cools the sea and makes the climate arid, since it inhibits the formation of vertical air currents that could condense. In this area, annual precipitation drops below 350 mm, but in a wide west-central area, where the southern part of the Namib Desert is found, it drops even below 200 mm.

The thin coastal strip to the east of the Cape Town area is characterized by a very mild climate, which becomes progressively warmer and rainier as we move towards the east-northeast.

As previously mentioned, much of South Africa is occupied by highlands. The western part of the plateau has been included in the arid climate zone. In the central and eastern part of the plateau, which we are dealing with now, the rains are more abundant, especially in the warm season, when humid currents from the Indian Ocean prevail.

The far north-east of South Africa has a warmer climate than the plateau, both because of the lower latitude (it is located at the Tropic of Capricorn) and because of the lower altitude, which descends below 1,000 meters above sea level.