Weather in Our District

1Sunshine at breakfast, rain after lunch

Ishimwe walks to school in bright sunshine. After lunch, dark clouds roll over the hills and heavy rain drums on the classroom roof. "Itumba has started," says her teacher, smiling.

How can the sky change so fast? And why does the rain come at the same time every year? Let's find out.

2What is weather?

Weather is what the air around us is like at one place and at one time. Is it hot or cold? Wet or dry? Windy or calm? Sunny or cloudy?

Weather can change from day to day, and even from hour to hour, just like Ishimwe's sunny morning and rainy afternoon.

3What is climate?

Climate is the usual weather of a place, measured over many years. When we say "Musanze is cool and wet," we are talking about its climate, not about one day.

4Rwanda's mild climate

Rwanda is close to the Equator, but most of the country is high up on hills and mountains. High land is cooler, so Rwanda is warm but not too hot. In Kigali, the days are usually about 25 to 28 °C and the nights about 15 °C.

The weather is not the same everywhere:

• North and west (for example Musanze, Nyabihu and Rubavu): high land, cooler, with more rain.
• East (for example Nyagatare, Kayonza and Kirehe): lower land, warmer and drier.

5Rwanda's four seasons

Rwanda has two rainy seasons and two dry seasons each year. The months move a little from year to year, so we say "about".

6Watching the weather in your district

You can be a weather watcher. Every morning, look at the sky and write one line in a weather diary: sunny, cloudy, rainy or windy? Hot, warm or cool? After a month, you will see a pattern. That pattern is the start of learning your district's climate.

Try it yourself