Global Outlook for Ice & Snow

African Mountains

Glaciers are found on three mountains in Africa: Rwen- zori Mountains (5109 m above sea level), Mount Kenya (5199 m above sea level) and Kilimanjaro (5895 m above sea level) (Figure 6B.21), all located near the equator in East Africa. Recent retreat of these glaciers began around the 1880s as a result of a decrease in precipitation and an increase in solar radiation from reduced cloudiness. Later

Early 1950s

Area (km 2 )

15

10

5

<1880 1912 1953 1976 1989 2000 2003 0 Figure 6B.21: Melting ice on Mount Kilimanjaro, East Africa. The graph shows the drastic reduction of the ice cover since the first observations in 1880, based on historical maps, aerial pho- tographs and satellite images. The oblique photos illustrate the shrinking of the ice cover between the early 1950s and 1999. Photos: (early 1950s) John West, (1999) Javed Jafferji. Data from Cullen and others 2006 150

1999

144

GLOBAL OUTLOOK FOR ICE AND SNOW