01.11.11

World Wide Weather #25: Antananarivo, Madagascar

Posted in Non-US Weather, Weather News at 8:00 am by Rebekah

This week’s post in the global weather and climate series features Antananarivo, Madagascar.

Looking down on Antananarivo, Madagascar. Source: Wikipedia

Situated on a mountain ridge, near the center of the island lengthwise and about 90 miles west of the eastern coast, Antananarivo is the capital of and the largest city in Madagascar. Founded in 1625, by the king of the Merina (an ethnic group from Madagascar), Antananarivo (formerly Tananarive) means “the city of the thousand”, taken from the number of soldiers assigned to guard it. In 1793, the city was made the capital of the Merina kingdom. About one hundred years later, Antananarivo was captured and colonized by the French. Madagascar finally gained independence from the French in 1960.

Today, Antananarivo is the economic and administrative center of Madagascar, with a population (in 2001) of 903,450 (1,403,449 in the metro). Exports include food, cigarettes, and textiles. Antananarivo is home to the University of Madagascar/Antananarivo, an Anglican cathedral and a Roman Catholic cathedral (as well as over 5,000 other church buildings), and Ivato International Airport (with service to Nairobi, Johannesburg, and Paris). Malagasy is the official language of Madagascar, though French is spoken there as well.

 

A few more facts about Antananarivo (from Wikipedia):

• Time zone: East African Time (UTC+3)
• Average elevation: 4,186 feet (1,276 meters)
• Climate zone: Temperate / subtropical highland
• Average high temperature: 75 °F (24 °C)
• Average low temperature: 57 °F (14 °C)
• Average annual high/low temperature range: 68 to 82 °F (20 to 28 °C) / 51 to 62 °F (10 to 17 °C)
• Record high temperature: 95 °F (35 °C)
• Record low temperature: 34 °F (1 °C)
• Average annual precipitation: 54 inches (1,365 mm)

Weather: At 18.5 °S, Antananarivo lies in the tropics of the Southern Hemisphere, thus the climate is warm and wet; however, the mountains keep the temperature milder than it would be otherwise. The coolest, driest months are from April to October.

Currently, every day this week is forecast to have a high near 82 and a low near 60. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are also forecast every day and night, with only a small amount of rain expected each day.

For weather maps and information on current and forecast Antananarivo weather, see Weather Underground and Weather Online UK.

For more information on Antananarivo, here’s a link to Wikipedia.

Next Tuesday we will take a look at the climate and weather in another part of the globe.  As always, if you have any suggestions for future cities, please leave a comment!

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