Editing Namibia (section)

===Climate===
[[File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_NAM_present.svg|350 px|thumb|[[Köppen climate classification|Köppen climate types]] of Namibia]]
[[File:Namibia-1113.jpg|thumb|Namibia, primarily a large desert and semi-desert plateau]]
Namibia extends from 17°S to 25°S latitude: climatically the range of the sub-Tropical High Pressure Belt. Its overall climate description is arid, descending from the Sub-Humid [mean rain above {{cvt|500|mm|in|sigfig=2}}] through Semi-Arid [between {{cvt|300 and 500|mm|in|sigfig=2}}] (embracing most of the waterless Kalahari) and Arid [from {{cvt|150 to 300|mm|in|sigfig=2}}] (these three regions are inland from the western [[Great Escarpment, Southern Africa|escarpment]]) to the Hyper-Arid coastal plain [less than {{cvt|100|mm|in|sigfig=2}}]. Temperature maxima are limited by the overall elevation of the entire region: only in the far south, [[Warmbad, Namibia|Warmbad]] for instance, are maxima above {{cvt|40|C|F}} recorded.<ref>{{cite report| title= Paper and digital Climate Section| publisher= Namibia Meteorological Services| website= | date= | page= }}</ref>

Typically the sub-Tropical High Pressure Belt, with frequent clear skies, provides more than 300 days of sunshine per year. It is situated at the southern edge of the tropics; the [[Tropic of Capricorn]] cuts the country about in half. The winter (June–August) is generally dry. Both rainy seasons occur in summer: the small rainy season between September and November, and the big one between February and April.<ref>{{cite web| publisher= | website= RealNamibia.com| title=The Rainy Season|url=http://www.realnamibia.com/rn_028rainyseason.htm| access-date=28 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100906094745/http://www.realnamibia.com/rn_028rainyseason.htm|archive-date=6 September 2010}}</ref> Humidity is low, and average rainfall varies from almost zero in the [[Skeleton Coast]] (a coastal desert) to more than {{cvt|600|mm|in|0}} in the Caprivi Strip. Rainfall is highly variable, and droughts are common.<ref name="EBClimate">{{cite encyclopedia |title= Namibia |url= https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/402283/Namibia/43996|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|access-date=28 July 2010|archive-date=18 May 2024| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240518174406/https://www.britannica.com/place/Namibia|url-status=live}}</ref> In the summer of 2006–07 the rainfall was recorded far below the annual average.<ref name="Olszewski1">{{Cite news|last=Olszewski|first=John|newspaper=[[Namibia Economist]]| title= Climate change forces us to recognise new normals|url=http://www.economist.com.na/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=531:weather&id=14308:climate-change-forces-us-to-recognise-new-normals&Itemid=54|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110513062850/http://www.economist.com.na/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=531:weather&id=14308:climate-change-forces-us-to-recognise-new-normals&Itemid=54|archive-date=13 May 2011|date=13 May 2009}}</ref> In May 2019, Namibia declared a state of emergency in response to the drought,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.africanews.com/2019/05/06/namibia-declares-national-state-of-emergency-over-drought/|title=Namibia declares national state of emergency over drought|last=AfricaNews|date=6 May 2019|website=Africanews|access-date=20 May 2019|archive-date=6 April 2023| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230406160538/https://www.africanews.com/2019/05/06/namibia-declares-national-state-of-emergency-over-drought/ |url-status= live}}</ref> and extended it by an additional 6 months in October 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|title=State of drought emergency extended| url= https://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?page=archive-read&id=193796|access-date=24 November 2020|website=The Namibian|archive-date=10 March 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210310104544/https://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?page=archive-read&id=193796|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Weather and climate in the coastal area are dominated by the cold, north-flowing [[Benguela Current]] of the Atlantic Ocean, which accounts for very low [[Precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] ({{cvt|50|mm|in|sigfig=2}} per year or less), frequent dense fog, and overall lower temperatures than in the rest of the country.<ref name="EBClimate"/> In Winter, occasionally a condition known as ''{{lang|de|[[Bergwind]]}}'' (German for "mountain wind") or ''{{lang|af|Oosweer}}'' ([[Afrikaans]] for "east weather") occurs, a hot dry wind blowing from the inland to the coast. As the area behind the coast is a desert, these winds can develop into sand storms, leaving sand deposits in the Atlantic Ocean that are visible on satellite images.<ref name="Olszewski2">{{Cite news| last=Olszewski|first=John|newspaper=Namibia Economist|title=Understanding Weather&nbsp;– not predicting it |url= http://www.economist.com.na/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=575&Itemid=54&limitstart=5 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101207061033/http://www.economist.com.na/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=575&Itemid=54&limitstart=5| archive-date=7 December 2010|date=25 June 2010}}</ref>

The Central Plateau and Kalahari areas have wide [[Diurnal temperature variation|diurnal]] temperature ranges of up to {{cvt|30|C}}.<ref name="EBClimate"/>

''Efundja'', the annual seasonal flooding of the northern parts of the country, often causes not only damage to infrastructure but loss of life.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/2011/04/debilitating-floods-hit-northern-and-central-namibia/|title=Debilitating floods hit northern and central Namibia| last=Adams|first=Gerry|date=15 April 2011|publisher= [[United Nations Radio]] |access-date=19 February 2012|archive-date=20 December 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220185613/http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/2011/04/debilitating-floods-hit-northern-and-central-namibia/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The rains that cause these floods originate in Angola, flow into Namibia's [[Cuvelai-Etosha Basin]], and fill the ''oshanas'' ([[Oshiwambo]]: flood plains) there. The worst floods {{As of|2012|alt=so far}} occurred in March 2011 and displaced 21,000 people.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?id=28&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=79689&no_cache=1|title=Heaviest floods ever in Namibia|last=van den Bosch| first= Servaas|date=29 March 2011|work=[[The Namibian]]|access-date=23 February 2012|archive-date=22 August 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180822014824/https://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?id=28|url-status=live}}</ref>