Madagascar is an island in South Africa, in the Indian Ocean. It is locate in the east of Mozambique. It has a narrow coastal terrain with relatively higher plateau and mountains in the centre of the island. There are two main seasons here, a hot and wet season which lasts from November to April and another cool and dry season from the Month of May till the month of Nov. However, since Madagascar has a variety of elevations, so it also has a variety of climatic conditions due to the effects of the winds. The east coast has the heaviest (as much as 3.5 meters) yearly rainfall as it faces the trade winds. This region also suffers from cyclones that may be quite destructive and they come from the direction of the Mascarene Islands. While the east gets the rainfall, the centre is quite dry and also much cooler as they are higher in altitude. However, the highlands do get thunderstorms during the rainy season. The west coast is relatively drier than the east coast as the winds relieve most of their moisture before they reach the west coast. The south zone remains dry and has a semi-desert climate.
