The climate is tropical; although it could be classified as a tropical monsoon climate, it could also be described as a climate that is transitional between a continually wet tropical rainforest climate and a tropical savanna climate. There are two seasons; dry season (NovemberMay) and rainy season (JuneOctober). December to January are the coolest months of the year, although temperatures can still exceed 40°C, lower to moderate humidity makes the heat around this time of the year more tolerable. Unlike March and April, the months that it gets hot and humid with temperatures around 33°C – 36°C and a solid 50% humidity, making the heat index higher than the actual temperature. The average sea temperature is 30°C. C (6)s to year. Average rainfall is highest at the coast, 3000–5000 mm per year; moving inland this decreases and at the eastern border of the country, the average rainfall is 2000–2500 mm. Environment issues Rapid population growth in Sierra Leone has put pressure upon the natural environment. Environmental problems include the overharvesting of timber, the expansion of cattle grazing and slash and burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion, and overfishing. Sierra Leone is party to several environmental agreements: Biodiversity (Convention on Biological Diversity) Climate Change (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) Desertification (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) Endangered Species (CITES) Law of the Sea (UNCLOS or LOS) Marine Life Conservation (Convention on Fishing and Conservation of Living Resources of the High Seas) Nuclear Test Ban (CTBT) Ramsar Convention(Wetlands) Signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification (ENMOD) General information Geographic coordinates: Land boundaries: total: 1,0938 km border countries: Guinea 794 km, Liberia 299 km Coastline: 402 km Maritime claims: territorial sea: . contiguous zone: . exclusive economic zone: . continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation. Climate: tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) Terrain: coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m Natural resources: diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite Land use: arable land: 24.4% permanent crops: 2.3% permanent pasture: 30.5% forest: 37.5% other: 6.3% (2011) Irrigated land: 300 km²; (2012) Total renewable water resources: 160 km3; (2011) Natural hazards: dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms