The Climate in Madagascar

The climate of Madagascar is subtropical. It is dominated by the southeastern trade winds that originate in the Indian Ocean anticyclone, a center of high atmospheric pressure that seasonally changes its position over the ocean. There are 2 seasons in Madagascar; a hot, rainy season from November to April and a cooler, dry season from May to October. However, there is a big variation in the climate depending on altitude and geographical position. The east coast is the most directly exposed to the trade winds and has the heaviest rainfall averaging as much as 3.5 meters annually. The season is not only notorious for its hot and humid climate, and tropical fevers that are endemic, but also destructive because of cyclones that occur during the rainy season. Thunderstorms are common during the rainy season in the central highlands and lightning is a serious hazard. Antananarivo has a pleasant and temperate climate.

The west coast is drier than the east coast and the central highlands while the far south and south west is a semi-desert region that experiences very little rainfall. The trade winds lose their humidity by the time they reach this region.

Madagascar suffers the impact of cyclones from time to time. The country was struck by Cyclone Geralda from February 2-4, 1994. It was the worst cyclone to come ashore on the island since 1927. The cyclone left a mark on the country, killing 70 people and leaving approximately 500,000 homeless and destroying enough properties including 30,000 in Antananarivo and 80,000 in Toamasina.