Table 1.
Yearly mean climatic features for the four selected locations.
| Feature | Unit | Reference sites | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nairobi | Nyabondo | Kibwezi | Malindi | ||
| mean altitude | m a.s.l. | 1778 | 1532 | 904 | 5 |
| location | Highlands east of the Rift Valley | Area around the Lake Victoria | Arid high ground | Southern Coastal Area | |
| Reference station | Nairobi Airport | Kisumu | Marsabit | Malindi airport | |
| Reference station height | m a.s.l. | 1624 | 1146 | 1345 | 20 |
| Tx | °C | 24.0 | 26.8 | 27.9 | 30.6 |
| Tn | °C | 13.6 | 14.5 | 18.1 | 23.3 |
| Td | °C | 18.8 | 20.7 | 23 | 26.9 |
| Stdev_Td | °C | 2.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.7 |
| Dtr | °C | 10.5 | 12.3 | 9.8 | 7.2 |
| Rr | mm | 796.4 | 1285.5 | 712.2 | 889.3 |
| Ev | mm | 1882 | 2156 | 2033 | 1900 |
| Rh* | % | 77.7 | 66.6 | 84.6 | 84.3 |
| Sr* | MJ m-2 | 6942 | 7422 | 6828 | 7866 |
| Sh* | h | 2457 | 2787 | 2394 | 3069 |
| Wt* | km year-1 | 55500 | 38880 | 74430 | 73410 |
| Climate | Tropical climate modified by highlands | Equatorial climate modified by lake Victoria | Semiarid to arid climate |
Modified equatorial climate of the Coast | |
Data referred to the reported reference meteorological station and climatic classification from Ininda et al. (2007). Tx, Tn, Td = maximum, minimum and mean temperature; Dtr = daily thermal range; Ev = Evaporation; Rh = Relative humidity; Sr = Solar radiation; Sh = sunshine duration; Wt = wind totalized. Tx, Tn, Td, Dtr and Rr are from 1983-2009 data (NOAA, 2010). Data from FAO Climwat database[54] are highlighted with the asterisks.