Patriot's Diary # 37: Divine Weather

Weather…seriously; I know that’s what you must be thinking. I had never really thought much about it, but the truth is Kenya has really great weather. The weather patterns have been tampered with due to climate change here and there. But it is not every day that you can wake up to beautiful sunshine and cool weather like in Kenya. (Right: Hippo in Lake Baringo)

Even our coastal areas and desert regions in South and North Eastern Kenya respectively don’t have ridiculously bad temperatures. The humidity and heat is ridiculous compared to Nairobi but it is temperate. If you don’t believe me, you should visit Mombasa and Kisumu cities located on the shores of the Indian Ocean and Lake Victoria respectively. People walk around in suits like it’s no biggie. Ok, it’s all a matter of acclimatizing, but it beats excessive snow fall and a constant damp and dull weather.

I didn’t appreciate the weather as much until a friend of mine who’s a British journalist said he doesn’t envy his friends and colleagues in London, stuck at their desks in raining weather. We have rain seasons in Kenya, that’s when you’re likely to hear of excessive flooding. But all in all like today as I look outside my office window all I see is a clear blue sky at 10.31 am. A nice cool breeze easing in through the window and kissing my face and sunshine warming up the day; it’s beautiful. I love the weather in this country.

I think what I love about rain in Kenya is that it’s almost as if with every down pour our nation is cleansed. It looks pure and whole again. The grass and leaves and trees look greener. The Lakes look purer; that reminds me of Lake Baringo. I know I have spoken of this before, but a visit to the shores of Lake Baringo and seeing Hippos immerge from the Lake after a down pour…Amazing! There’s peace and purity about that moment that I just love.

The smell of the wet soil and the bright green leaves on trees and shrubs around that just seem to be magnets for hippos on land. But just watching the fusion of great weather and beautiful nature just makes everything alright! Come rain or sunshine, once you’ve experienced the ridiculous humidity and heat from other neighbouring nations, I say I love my country’s weather. Call it self-serving; of course it is, it’s Kenya its home and I adore every element of it. (Left: lake Baringo on a bright beautiful morning)