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15
Of the five countries within the Lake Victoria Basin, only
three share its 3,460 km shoreline: Kenya, Uganda and
Tanzania (See Table 1.1 and Figure 1.1).
The part of Lake Victoria that is regularly filled is 412
km from north to south and 355 km from east to west.
Situated at an altitude of 1,134 m above sea level, the
Lake is located between latitudes 0
°
30’ N and 34
°
12’
S, and longitudes 31
°
37’ E and 34
°
53’ E (Lake Victoria
Basin Commission 2007a).
Climate
The LVB has an equatorial, hot and humid climate with a
biannual rainfall pattern – the long rains are experienced
from March to May and short rains from October to
December. Rainfall varies considerably from one part
of the Basin to another (Williams and others 2014). The
Ssese Islands have the highest annual rainfall in Uganda,
with an average of approximately 2,400 mm, while
Tanzania and Kenya have between 1,350 and 2,400 mm
annually. Burundi and Rwanda have an average rainfall
of 1,800 mm annually. Rainfall amounts for Burundi and
Rwanda increase from east to west from 600 to 2,800 mm
annually, and the average for the year is 1,800 mm
(Lake Victoria Basin Commission 2007a).
July is the coolest month of the year and the warmest
month varies between October and February; in
most of the Basin countries, temperatures reach their
maximum in February, just before the March equinox,
and range from 28.6˚C to 28.7˚C. Temperatures drop
to their lowest in July following the height of the June
equinox, during which time they vary between 14.7˚C
and 18.2˚C. A comparison of temperature records
for the period 1950–2000 and 2001–2005 show that
current maximum temperatures have increased by an
average of 1 ˚C (Lake Victoria Basin Commission 2007a).
(See Chapter 2 for more details on climate change.)
Figure 1.2: TheWhite Nile flows out of LakeVictoria into the Nile, Africa’s longest river
Rapids on the Nile River, Uganda
0
200 km
Nile river
basin
Copyright©2016GRID-Arendal ·Cartografare ilpresente/NievesLópez Izquierdo
Lake Victoria sub-basin
Nile river basin
EGYPT
SUDAN
SOUTH SUDAN
D. R. C.
UGANDA
BURUNDI
RWANDA
Kigali
Bujumbura
Kampala
Juba
KENYA
TANZANIA
Lake
Victoria
Lago
Edward
Lago
Albert
Lago
Tana
Lago
Nasser
ETHIOPIA
ERITREA
Khartum
Cairo
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