Searing heat, delayed rain season explained

For the past three weeks, Moses Muramira, a resident of Kamwokya in Kampala, has been unsettled by the acute hot weather.

“I feel like I am about to burst because of the heat,” he said, adding that the most bothersome hot weather strikes after mid-day and the nights are warmer than the previous months.

“I do not know what is happening; is it climate change?”

Muramira is not alone as people in many parts of the country have complained about high temperatures.

While temperatures are usually high in the dry season, weather experts, including the principal meteorologist at the Ministry of Water and Environment, George William Omony, say there has been a big increase this February.

“The weather is very hot, dry and unbearable,” Omony told New Vision in an interview. “This is the peak of the dry season and the high temperature is expected to persist until the first or the second week of March.”

Kasese hottest

Omony said the average temperature for Kampala is 26°C but it has shot up to 30°C in recent weeks.

“The jump of four places [degrees] is very high when it comes to temperature,” he said.

As Muramira is cursing in Kampala, more heat is pouring into places sitting on the bed of the Albertine Rift or the western arm of the Rift Valley in western Uganda.

“Kasese, Pakwach, Adjumani and Yumbe are among the hottest places,” Omony said, adding that Gulu and Kitgum have been hot but not as high as places in the Rift Valley.

He said Kasese is very hot but the temperatures on Mt Rwenzori are cold with glaciers on the peaks of the mountains. He said Fort Portal, which is higher than Kasese, is cooler than Kasese.

Kasese’s average temperature is between 35°C and 36°C but the extreme weather is 37.5°C. This is also true with Pakwach and Adjumani, Omony added.

Causes

Omony blamed the prevailing high temperatures on underlying causes such as cloud cover and wind movement.

He said when clouds are transparent and very high from the Earth, a lot of solar radiation heats the Earth’s surface as opposed to when clouds are lower.

A vender holding an umbrella to shield away from the acute hot weather in Kampala on February 25, 2025. Photo by Colleb Mugume

“The low clouds protect us from the heat during day time,” he said. “In the night, low clouds block the process of heat escaping into the space (atmosphere), the heat is blocked and cannot go to space,” he said.

In addition, the wind movement can blow the heat away, leading to subsequent cooling. This has not been the case around Kampala where winds have been calm for most of the time in recent weeks, Omony said.

Also, the sun’s movement into Uganda has contributed to increased temperatures and heat.

“The sun is directly overhead the Equator on March 21,” Omony said, adding that this partly explains why Uganda is experiencing high temperatures.

“The heat started building up in January and we have hit the peak. We have very strong radiation around us.”

This is expected to change with the onset of the rains either in the first week or second week of March, Omony said. “The heat will go at the onset of the rainy season.”

He attributed the changes to climate variability, which is creating impacts that are accelerated by environmental destruction such as deforestation and wetland reclamation.

Climate variability is the way weather aspects (such as temperature and precipitation) differ from an average.

Rainy season delayed

The rainy season (March, April, May) has been delayed and the onset is expected in the first or second week of March, Omony noted. He said the rainy season in Uganda begins in either the third or fourth week of February in southwestern Uganda.

“It progresses to western Uganda, central Uganda, eastern Uganda then northern Uganda,” he said.

Omony said a weather phenomenon in southern Africa had disrupted the rainy season.

“It has blocked the winds that were supposed to bring moisture to the East African countries, including Uganda,” Omony noted, adding that neighbouring Tanzania has rain in December and January. However, the country has also suffered as a result of delayed rainfall.

Also, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya and South Sudan have suffered due to the delayed rains.

It is predicted that the rainy season will be unfavourable for crops in south-western and western Uganda as well as the central part of the country. This is likely to be shorter than expected. However, the eastern and northern parts may be unaffected as the onset is likely to be unchanged.

Omony said a seasonal weather forecast would be released later in the week by the commissioner and the Minister of Water and Environment.

Advisories on hot weather

Omony said the adverse impacts of the hot weather affect the most vulnerable such as children, the elderly and people with underlying health concerns. The population should keep indoors and open doors as well as windows to allow heat to escape. There should be frequent hydration (drinking water) and eating fruits such as watermelon.

The population in urban areas should avoid building walls around their premises as walls absorb heat, Omony said. In addition, massive tree planting should be encouraged as trees create a cooling effect and stimulate air circulation.

Recently, President Yoweri Museveni warned against encroachment on the environment, particularly the wetlands.

“Encroaching on the wetlands must stop. Otherwise, the Ugandans will regret it. Forewarned is forearmed. We must protect the environment.”

2024 hottest year in recorded history The UN weather experts from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) confirmed on February 21, 2025, that 2024 was the hottest year on record, at 1.55°C above preindustrial temperature.

“We saw extraordinary land, sea surface temperatures, extraordinary ocean heat accompanied by very extreme weather affecting many countries around the world, destroying lives, livelihoods, hopes and dreams,” WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis said. “We saw many climate change impacts retreating sea ice glaciers. It was an extraordinary year.”