This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Mount Kilimanjaro is warming in some places and cooling in others, according to a new study by the University of Portsmouth, published in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. Analyzing temperature records collected over 20 years at elevations ranging from 900 m to 5,803 m (2,950 to 19,040 feet) above sea level, researchers found that daytime temperatures near the summit rose strongly, while the strongest cooling occurred on the middle slopes, between 3,000 and 3,500 meters (9,840 and 11,480 feet) above sea level.
Long-term temperature records covering such a large elevation range are particularly rare in tropical mountains, where weather stations are often sparse, especially at high elevations. The researchers describe Kilimanjaro as the best-monitored tropical high-elevation mountain in Africa, with temperature sensors installed and maintained by the University of Portsmouth spanning around 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) of elevation. Kilimanjaro provides a unique open-air laboratory because it rises from the East African plains to almost 5,900 meters (19,360 feet), creating a series of distinct environments as you move upslope, including cultivated land, tropical rain forest, heathland and alpine desert, before reaching its ice-covered summit.
This range of habitats allows researchers to investigate how temperature trends vary with elevation and local environmental conditions. Nick Pepin, a professor from the Institute of the Earth and Environment at the University of Portsmouth, said, "Climate change does not affect every part of a mountain in the same way. Long-term observations across different elevations help us see these local differences and build a more accurate picture of how mountain environments are changing." The researchers combined measurements from 22 temperature loggers operating across Kilimanjaro from 2004 to 2024 with satellite observations and other environmental data.
This enabled them to estimate air temperatures across the whole mountain at a resolution of 1 kilometer (0.62 miles), rather than relying only on readings from individual monitoring stations. The approach provides a detailed picture of how temperatures vary across the mountain and between daytime and nighttime. The combined data showed that daytime temperatures near the summit rose by between 0.05°C and 0.10°C per decade during the period analyzed, while temperatures between 3,000 and 3,500 meters (9,840 and 11,480 feet) fell by approximately 0.13°C to 0.14°C per decade.
At night, most elevations experienced slight warming, while summit temperatures remained broadly stable. University of Portsmouth Ph.D. student Yaping Mo, the study's lead author, explained, "The cooling on the middle slopes coincides with the upslope expansion of the heathland zone. This signals that changes in vegetation and land cover may be influencing local temperatures, although other factors are also likely to contribute.
"Further down the mountain, the rain forest zone has shown relatively little daytime warming. This indicates that conservation and reforestation efforts may have helped limit local temperature increases, although this relationship requires further investigation." Vegetation affects how much sunlight reaches the ground and how heat moves between the land and the air. More healthy vegetation can divert the sun's energy away from heating the air and keep conditions cool.
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