The savanna climate or Sudan Climate is located between equatorial rainforests and hot deserts. Savannas thrive in tropical climates ranging from 8 to 20 degrees north and south of the Equator.
Savanna Climate or Tropical Wet and Dry Climate or Sudan Climate
- This type of climate has alternate wet and dry seasons similar to monsoon climate but has considerably less annual rainfall.
- Also there is no distinct rainy season like in monsoon climate. [Only two seasons – winter and summer Rains occur in summer].
- Floods and droughts are common.
- Vegetation, wildlife and human life are quite different from monsoon climate regions.
Distribution of Savanna Climate
- It is confined within the tropics and is best developed in Sudan, hence its name the Sudan Climate.
- It is a transitional type of climate found between the equatorial rainforests and hot deserts.
- African Savanna
- The belt includes West African Sudan, and then curves southwards into East Africa and southern Africa north of the Tropic of Capricorn.
- South American Savanna
- There are two distinct regions namely the llanos of the Orinoco basin [north of equator] and the compos of the Brazilian Highlands [South of equator].
Australian savanna
- The Australian savanna is located south of the monsoon strip (northern Australia) running from west to east north of the Tropic of Capricorn.
Indian Savanna
- Certain parts across Northern Karnataka, Southern Maharashtra and Telangana exhibit characteristics of both semi-arid and savanna climate.
- Due to irrigation and cultivation, this region is different from other savanna regions.
Rainfall
- Mean annual rainfall ranges from 80 – 160 cm [Rainfall decreases with distance from equator].
- In the northern hemisphere, the rainy season begins in May and lasts till September.
- In the southern hemisphere, the rainy season is from October to March.
Temperature
- Mean annual temperature is greater than 18° C.
- The monthly temperature hovers between 20° C and 32° C for lowland stations.
- Highest temperatures do not coincide with the period of the highest sun (e.g. June in the northern hemisphere) but occur just before theonset
of the rainy season i.e. April in Northern Hemisphere and October in Southern Hemisphere. - Days are hot and nights are cold.
- This extreme diurnal range of temperature is another characteristic feature of the Sudan type of climate.
Winds
- The prevailing winds of the region are the Trade Winds, which bring rain to the coastal districts.
- They are strongest in the summer [favorable position of ITCZ] but are relatively dry by the time they reach the continental interiors or the
western coasts [Trade winds are easterlies – flow from east to west. So
rainfall decreases from east to west here]. - In West Africa, the North-East Trades, in fact, blow off-shore [continent
to sea] from the Sahara Desert and reach the Guinea coast as a dry, dust-
laden winds.
Also read: Tropical Monsoon Climate
