Two months into the 2022 dry season - roughly halfway through - the extent of snowcover has remained remarkably constant. The animation below runs from 12 June through 27 July at a five-day interval (22 July not shown due clouds).
Although mass loss continues, the low rate of ablation suggests cold and dry conditions at the summit, supported by the lack of convective clouds seen on these images. With such weather conditions, sublimation is the predominant mechanism of ablation, requiring eight times more energy per unit mass lost.
Typically, an increase in atmospheric moisture marks the transition between the dry season and short rains, yet for much of eastern Africa the pattern has been disrupted in recent years. David Nash details the current and forecast situation in a short article for The Conversation.
We will be back on the mountain in September! After a 2-year COVID hiatus, we are eager to observe the glaciers, recover meteorological data - and provide a new perspective on Kilimanjaro climate variability and change (stay tuned)!
