Africa’s Six Climate Zones
A continental climate explainer from the AfricaMeteo Climate Division.
Published June 7, 2026
From desert to rainforest
Africa spans six broad climate regimes: the Mediterranean north, the Saharan desert, the semi-arid Sahel, the equatorial rainforest, the tropical savanna, and the highland and southern temperate zones. Each has its own temperature range, rainfall pattern and seasonal rhythm.
Explore the detail
Each zone’s normals, representative states and seasonal cycle are detailed on the AfricaMeteo Climate page. Understanding which zone a country falls in is the first step to interpreting its daily forecast.