Ndiho Media

By Paul Ndiho

Did you know that the equator traverses the land and territorial waters of 14 countries and seven of them are in Africa?  Uganda is one of the few countries in the world that the equator intersects.  The equator crosses through Uganda approximately 72 kilometers south of Kampala, along the famous Kampala – Masaka road.

At this point, there are two huge circles marking the equator line and if you are traveling to Masaka or Kampala, you would be wise to stop and snap a picture.

“The equator is an imaginary line on the earth’s surface that runs from east to west and divides the earth into the northern and southern hemisphere.”

Another reason the Uganda equator stop is worthwhile is the great shopping bargains. There are several craft shops and art galleries that sell souvenirs and handmade products about the equator.  But, before we do the shopping, here is a simple quiz?

“Did you know that if you poured water in a funnel on the northern hemisphere it runs clockwise and in the southern hemisphere it runs counter-clockwise and right on the line the water goes straight?”

Being able to stand on the equator is a privilege only a few have the opportunity to experience, as the imaginary line passes through a only few countries in Africa, South America, several islands; and oceans.  The demonstration that you are about to see is one of a kind– and i bet — it will blow your mind– and perhaps you will learn a few things about the forces of nature.

“If you pour water when you are northern side of the equator on top of this funnel it drains in the clockwise direction and on the southern side it will change and drain anti-clockwise. And right here on the straight-line there won’t is any movement. And this is caused by the cirrhosis’ effect of the magnetic field.

After pouring the reason why i put this metal is just to make the water calm down so that i does not pour. After making it still, i drop this flower on top to show its direction: it runs clockwise. This means that those who are living in the northern hemisphere: when you flush your toilet or open the sink plug the water will run clockwise.

Southern hemisphere:  the flower changes direction and runs anti-clockwise. Some countries in the southern hemisphere for example New Zealand and Argentina all there toilets flush this direction.

The equator is more than 40,000 kilometers or nearly 25-thousand miles long; 78.7% is across water and 21.3% is over land. The latitude of the equator is by definition 0 degrees. Said kalungi Huntington, equator Uganda tour guide:

“On the 0 degree latitude (equator line): water will not spin, it will just stay sill. You will not see any movement because both magnetic fields are pulling on the equal point.”

The equator is one of the five notable circles of latitude on earth, the others are– the two polar circles and the two tropical circles – the tropic of cancer and the tropic of Capricorn.  Interestingly the equator is the only line of latitude, which is a great circle.

Scientists say the places on the equator experience the quickest sunrises and sunsets. Since the sun rises and sets almost vertically throughout the year. The length of a day from (sunrise to sunset) at the equator is almost constant during the year; each day is about 14 minutes longer than night because of atmospheric refraction and the fact that sunrise/sunset is the moment when the edge of the sun’s disk passes the horizon, rather than its center.

“21 March and 23 September are equatorial equinox days where the sun rises and sets directly above the equator line .at midday on these two days you won’t see your shadow.  This is because the line is straight up.”

This equator intersects six African nations; Uganda, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Somalia, and Sao tome and Principe.

The temperature at the equator can plummet during rainstorms. In many tropical regions people identify two seasons: the rainy season and the dry season, but many places close to the equator or near oceans are rainy throughout the year.