Kawambwa is a town in the Zambian province of Luapula located on the edge of the northern Zambian plateau above the Luapula valley at an altitude of 1300 m. It was chosen as an administrative district of the same name by the British colonial authorities who preferred the climate of the plateau rather than the hotter valley where most of the district's population live, and it continues as an administrative district today.

Kawambwa
Kawambwa is located in Zambia
Kawambwa
Kawambwa
Location in Zambia
Coordinates: 9°47′29″S 29°04′44″E / 9.79139°S 29.07889°E / -9.79139; 29.07889
Country Zambia
ProvinceLuapula Province
DistrictKawambwa District
Time zoneUTC+2 (CAT)

Kawambwa sits at the junction of tarred roads to Nchelenge, Mporokoso, Mushota and Mansa, and Mbereshi linking with the Zambia Way, the main tarred highway of the Luapula Province through Mwansabombwe[1] and Mansa.

Zambia's largest tea plantation is situated 27 km from Kawambwa on the Mporokoso road.[citation needed]

A camp for refugees of war in the eastern DR Congo was established by United Nations agencies at Kala 24 km north of Kawambwa in 1998, with a capacity for 40,000 refugees.[citation needed]

Near to Kawambwa are three of Zambia's waterfalls Lumangwe Falls , Kabwelume 50 km to the north-east on the Kalungwishi River and the Ntumbachushi Falls on the Ngona River, 16 km west.[2]

Climate edit

Kawambwa has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: Aw)[3] with clear wet and dry seasons.

Climate data for Kawambwa (1991–2020)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 32.0
(89.6)
33.1
(91.6)
32.8
(91.0)
33.8
(92.8)
34.1
(93.4)
33.2
(91.8)
34.0
(93.2)
33.9
(93.0)
36.2
(97.2)
36.4
(97.5)
34.8
(94.6)
32.5
(90.5)
33.9
(93.0)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 27.4
(81.3)
28.0
(82.4)
27.8
(82.0)
28.8
(83.8)
28.9
(84.0)
27.8
(82.0)
27.6
(81.7)
29.6
(85.3)
30.6
(87.1)
31.3
(88.3)
28.8
(83.8)
27.5
(81.5)
28.7
(83.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) 22.2
(72.0)
22.6
(72.7)
22.5
(72.5)
22.6
(72.7)
21.5
(70.7)
19.6
(67.3)
19.3
(66.7)
21.4
(70.5)
23.3
(73.9)
24.3
(75.7)
22.8
(73.0)
22.2
(72.0)
22.0
(71.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 17.0
(62.6)
17.2
(63.0)
17.1
(62.8)
16.3
(61.3)
14.1
(57.4)
11.4
(52.5)
10.9
(51.6)
13.1
(55.6)
15.9
(60.6)
17.2
(63.0)
16.8
(62.2)
16.8
(62.2)
15.3
(59.5)
Record low °C (°F) 13.5
(56.3)
13.0
(55.4)
12.7
(54.9)
10.2
(50.4)
8.6
(47.5)
5.3
(41.5)
5.9
(42.6)
5.6
(42.1)
10.7
(51.3)
11.8
(53.2)
12.6
(54.7)
13.2
(55.8)
10.3
(50.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 235.9
(9.29)
185.3
(7.30)
249.6
(9.83)
110.6
(4.35)
17.1
(0.67)
0.4
(0.02)
0.0
(0.0)
1.3
(0.05)
12.8
(0.50)
74.2
(2.92)
153.5
(6.04)
216.7
(8.53)
1,257.4
(49.50)
Source: NOAA[4]

References edit

  1. ^ Gordon, David M. (March 2006). "History on the Luapula Retold: Landscape, Memory and Identity in the Kazembe Kingdom". The Journal of African History. 47 (1): 21–42. doi:10.1017/S0021853705001283. ISSN 1469-5138. S2CID 161148338.
  2. ^ "Zambia Tourism". www.zambiatourism.com. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  3. ^ "Table 1 Overview of the Köppen-Geiger climate classes including the defining criteria". Nature: Scientific Data. 23 October 2023.
  4. ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Kawambwa". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 23, 2024.