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Extreme heat being experienced in the country is attributed to the movement of global winds across the equatorial region, coupled with the movement of the sun towards the equator.

When the wind is moving across the equatorial areas, it suppresses the rains, hence denying countries in that region rains.

And when the sun is moving towards the equator, which is at its peak every March 21, more solar radiation or heat from the sun is pushed to the earth. The two factors combined are responsible for the extremely high temperatures in Uganda today.

The explanation was made by George William Omonyi, the manager of weather forecasting at the Uganda National Meteorology Authority (UNMA) in a telephone interview on Monday, about the current weather situation.

“The position of the overhead sun over the equator is always on every March 21 and it is the time when maximum heating of the earth is over the equatorial region. That period starts from the beginning of March and usually continues till April, giving off solar radiation from the sun or heat from the sun,” explained Omonyi.

The second factor causing the temperatures is the global wind system. 

“The system has suppressed our rain. It is a global wind that moves around the world and moves along the line of the equator. So, it has disrupted our rainfall completely now for the third week. The effects are being felt in Kenya and Tanzania,” he added.

Omonyi, however, gave hope that the wind is now weakening and that their current forecast shows that by the end of this week, it will have weakened, by next week, there is a high possibility that we shall have our rains back.

Thirdly, during these dry conditions, which have been on for the last two weeks, and now in the third week, part of the wind, that has been blowing over Uganda is coming from the Somali region, which has a very dry and hot wind, which when it meets the global winds and the heat from the sun, increases Uganda’s temperatures.

And the fourth reason for the current situation is that as the sun moves over the equator, the water vapour in the atmosphere increases.

Under normal circumstances, this water vapour turns into rainfall clouds, however this year, this is not the case. Instead, the water in the atmosphere is now heated up by solar radiation, which when released in the atmosphere increases the higher temperatures, Omonyi added.

Is this the first time?

UNMA further explained that the current situation has been happening and it takes three weeks, however, in two ways.

Sometimes the movement and position of the sun give a lot of rain leading to flooding in the first rainfall days leading to what is termed as enhanced rainfall, and other days leading to suppression of rainfall.

And that this year, the position of the sun has led to suppression of the rainfall, leading to what is termed as total suppression of rains.

So, is Uganda experiencing heat waves?

UNMA’s Omonyi also clarified that much as the country is experiencing extreme heat, it is not yet experiencing heat waves, as it is the case for South Sudan.

For a high-temperature situation to be declared a heat wave, that region must have experienced constant higher temperatures beyond 42 to 45 degrees centigrade and this must be sustained for several days, which has been the case for South Sudan.

“For our region, temperatures are not a heat wave but rather extreme temperatures. Some areas that have been receiving temperatures of 40 degrees, tend to drop within a short time, so it is not constant, besides temperatures in our country vary from place to place they are not uniform,”.

He gave an example of Kampala whose average temperature is usually between 28 to 29 maximum but when it clocks 30 to 31 it becomes hot while the average temperature for Karamoja is usually between 32 to 33, degrees centigrade, so during this period, the temperature can rise to 35 to 37 so that becomes an extreme temperature in that area hence no heat waves in Uganda.

Long-term mitigation measures

Long-term measures to manage the situation include planting more trees as these moderate the temperatures, whenever the leaves release some water in the atmosphere. The need to maintain swamps as these too moderate the climate in a given area. Then wild bush burning should stop to allow the plants or grasses to absorb some heat in addition to reducing tree cutting.

Immediate solutions

Because of the heat, Omonyi advised the public to take a lot of water during the day and avoid sitting under AC for long as this fuels dehydration leading to constant headaches.

Avoid a lot of exercise during this period because as the body generates heat in the process you generate a lot of heat from your body, which will increase water loss from your body and lead to dehydration.

Any hope for the rains?

"Those are the four factors increasing temperature currently. But since the winds suppressing our rainfall are weakening and we are going to start getting our rains next week, these high temperatures will automatically disappear,” he explained further.

However, because this will be the first rainfall season of the year, the public should brace itself for negative effects such as strong winds, flooding, and in some areas, landslides.

“If rainfall delays it usually comes back so violent so people should prepare for those violent characteristics of delayed rainfall sometimes there are flash floods all over the city, in one day heavy rainfall paralyzing the whole city,” he added.