Kilimanjaro Weather
When considering an ascent of Kilimanjaro we frequently receive enquiries about what
climbers should expect in terms of temperatures and precipitation. While this information
is of course useful, it tells only a very small part of the story in terms of informing
a climber how they should prepare.
The following widget advises current temperatures at Kilimanjaro's assault launch
camps (though please bear in mind that the large characters denoting current temperature
represent the temperature at the airport, not on the mountain!). So while these are
of interest, we wish to caution strongly against the notion that climbers be overly
reassured by these figures or that they may conclude that since these temperatures
look much friendlier than say, a Canadian winter, or a skiing holiday on piste, as
these temperatures do not offer an effective equivalent skin extremities temperature
once one has factored-in the highly significant considerations associated with the
body's response to altitude. Please read the below explanation for further discussion
of this.
>>> Full Kilimanjaro Summit 6 Day Weather Forecast
The most underestimated factor that is responsible for how a climber copes with Kilimanjaro's
weather, is altitude. Until one has experienced cold at altitude, and without asking
a biologist to assist us with a complex description of how the body responds to oxygen-starved
environments, it is difficult convincingly to communicate the magnitude of the effect
of altitude on how cold one actually feels. Nonetheless, we will attempt to offer
a very simplistic explanation.
Most readers will already understand very well that at altitude the proportional
composition of the air is pretty much identical to that at sea level, with oxygen
making up a little under 20% of all inspired air. However, as one ascends there is
effectively a smaller column of air pressing down upon the climber, between the outer
reaches of the earth's atmosphere and the climber's location. As the weight of the
air above the climber reduces with the increase in altitude, the force that binds
air molecules together is correspondingly lessened, so the air becomes less rich,
less dense. Or in common terms, we say that the air pressure becomes lower.
Depending on where one lives, we can describe normal sea level air pressure as being
1 atmosphere, or 1,000 mbar. By the time one reaches the elevation of Kilimanjaro's
summit (5,895m) the air pressure will usually have dropped to around 480 - 520 mbar,
or around half an atmosphere. This of course means that the density of the air being
inspired on Kilimanjaro's summit is roughly half that at sea level, and therefore
the number of oxygen molecules that are inspired in each breath is also around half.
Unless the breathing rate is significantly increased then, the body is trying to
work with too little supplied fuel. (As an aside, it may be of interest to climbers
to know that Diamox [acetazolamide] achieves this increased respiration rate synthetically
by acidifying the blood, thereby effectively asking the chemoreceptors in the person's
neck to acknowledge that a message should be sent to the hypothalamus to tell the
autonomic respiratory system to breath more frequently so as to flush out excessive
accumulated CO2 [in order to achieve the central objective of inspiring more O2].
Climbers should also bear in mind, however, that where a climber understands what
is required, it is not actually necessary to artificially induce this increased respiration
rate, as the climber can themselves voluntarily increase their breathing rate through
practised [non-autonomic] breath control. Obviously this is not possible during sleep,
however, provided oxygen debt is not experienced during daytime exposure to the day's
highest elevation, hypoxia need not be expected during depressed respiration at sleep).
The Demand for Oxygen in Cold Climates
Thermoregulation of the body in mammals is of course very resource-intensive, wherever
ambient temperatures differ significantly from temperate zones. In cold areas then,
the body requires a good supply of oxygen in order to generate heat in the skin (which
is obviously the largest organ in the human body), where the reduced intensity of
muscle activity (necessitated by a significantly diminished fuel / oxygen supply)
becomes inadequate to produce the requisite heat by-product that the body can normally
use to maintain necessary skin temperature. So the problem arises in that we are
asking our bodies to make a difficult decision between continuing to provide vital
organs (such as the brain, which is very greedy for oxygen) with fuel, and at the
same time requiring that the body expend much of this valuable and sparse supply
on raising skin temperatures.
The Body's Response to Low Atmospheric Oxygen Levels
Predictably, the body's response to these demands are principally two-fold: i) substantial
vasoconstriction of the small blood vessels serving the skin, with the effect being
most pronounced at the extremities, namely in the hands and feet, and ii) it reduces
supply to processes like digestion and higher brain function, with a corresponding
reduction in IQ and lower resultant fuel demands. (We have heard difficult-to-prove
assertions by alpinists that without a supplemental oxygen supply, on Everest's summit
and the reduced mental function of an adult of average intelligence is roughly equivalent
to that of an average 6-year old, making complex decisions almost impossible.
Climbers should please understand then, that while the minus 8 degrees Centigrade
that typically can be expected at the summit may not sound very daunting, when combined
with the effects of low oxygen and windchill, the level of care with which climbers
should plan their clothing strategy, is a matter of very great importance that we
are very happy to advise with via email correspondence.
Seasonal Weather Patterns on Kilimanjaro
Broadly speaking, while we are happy to arrange climbs on Kilimanjaro on any given
day of the air, most climbers tend to avoid April, May and November as these represent
the greater part of the two annual rainy seasons. Climbing during rainy months offers
advantages in terms of lower crowds and a more beautiful summit that is often enveloped
in snow, however, lower elevations are more often overcast with photographic opportunities
sometimes being compromised, and a greater likelihood of being rained on.
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