Climate Change Overview

Country Summary

This page presents high-level information for Somalia's climate zones and its seasonal cycle for mean temperature and precipitation for the latest climatology, 1991-2020. Climate zone classifications are derived from the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system, which divides climates into five main climate groups divided based on seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns. The five main groups are A (tropical), B (dry), C (temperate), D (continental), and E (polar). All climates except for those in the E group are assigned a seasonal precipitation sub-group (second letter).  Climate classifications are identified by hovering your mouse over the legend. A narrative overview of Somalia's country context and climate is provided following the visualizations.

Somalia is located in the horn of Africa and has a total land area of 647,540 km2. The country has over 3,025 km of coastline, the longest in the mainland Africa and the Middle East. Somalia is bordered by Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti to the west. Somalia has a population of over 15.8 million (2020) people, of which 60% live in rural areas as nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists. Climate plays a key role for Somalia’s economy and livelihoods as its economy is predominated by agricultural activities, which accounted for about 65% of the GDP and employment in 2017. In Somalia, climate change impacts from droughts and floods pose the most severe hazards to the country. For the water sector, declining ground water levels drive up water prices and increase the likelihood of a conflict over water.