About Sudan
Geography and Climate
The highest point is Mount Kenyatta, 10,456 feet, located in the Immatong mountains, close to the Ugandan border. Its greatest width measures about 1,400 miles, and its length is 2,000 miles.
North of latitude 19 north, dry northerly winds prevail and rainfall is rare. In winter strong, cold winds and sandstorms are frequent. There are occasional slight rainfalls in the Red Sea region. In northern Sudan there are two major deserts, the Nubian Desert on the east and the Libyan Desert on the West.
Between latitude 19 north and 10 north the climate is influenced by the north-south movement of dry northerly winds and moist southerly winds which produce a wet summer and a dry winter. In the northern part of this region, which includes Khartoum at latitude 16 north, sandstorms (huboob”s) are common from May until August. There is little binding vegetation here, but going further south, the vegetation gradually changes from desert to semi-desert to savannah with long grasses and large plains.
South of latitude 10 north, the climate and vegetation is essentially that of the equatorial type. Rainfall occurs most of the year, and the weather is hot and humid.
Khartoum’s average maximum temperature is over 100 degrees F (38 degrees C) and prevails from February to November, while an average maximum of 94 degrees (34 degrees C) characterizes the remaining two months. Khartoum is famous for its location on the “Mogran” the confluence of the White and Blue Niles. The Nile, the longest river in the world, stretches 4,148 miles.