Ecological Zones and Weather
There are six ecological zones on Mount Kilimanjaro. The trek from the base to the summit will bring climbers through an amazing range of conditions.
At the lowest level is the bushland zone, made up of cultivated land and grasslands. Temperatures here are very pleasant, with a year-round average of around 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures decrease with each correspondingly higher zone. It is important to remember that these remarks about weather are generailities, and the actual weather is impossible to predict.
As climbers make their way through the park gates, they enter the rainforest zone. The rainforest is characterized by dense forest, humidity and precipitation. The rainforest zone receives the highest amount of rainfall of all the zones, receiving as much as 80 inches a year. Lichens, mosses and ferns dangle from trees making a dense canopy that harbors brightly colored insects, colorful flowers, hornbills, colubus monkeys and leopards.
On the upper edge of the forest, smaller shrub-like trees begin to replace the tall, straight-trunked trees in the heath zone. The forest abruptly opens up into an area of rolling, unfertile land that consists predominantly of dense heather. Buffalo, elephants, elands, common duikers and the yellow-crowned canary are just some of the wildlife here.
The fluctuation in temperature causes desert-like conditions in the alpine desert zone. Temperatures may range from below freezing at night to simmering during the day. The alpine desert zone receives only 10 inches of rain per year. Only the hardiest organisms can survive this climate. Although not much wildlife lives here, elands and leopards sometimes pass through. Thin air and strong winds make flying too difficult for most birds.
Starkly beautiful glaciers straddle gaping volcanic craters in the summit. The arctic zone is almost completely void of vegetation due to its arctic climate, except for some red and gray lichens that have adapted for survival. The artic zone receives less than four inches of precipitation per year, usually in the form of snow, and night-time temperatures at the summit can be subzero. The presence of snow so close to the equator has often been a fascination for explorers. However, many scientists believe these glaciers will disappear within 15 years.