 Almost the entirety of Africa is located within tropical and subtropical climate zones . Its glaciers are found only in two isolated ranges and the Ruwenzori Range . Kilimanjaro , at 5 @,@ 895 m ( 19 @,@ 341 ft ) , is the highest peak on the continent . Since 1912 the glacier cover on the summit of Kilimanjaro has apparently retreated 75 % , and the volume of glacial ice is now 80 % less than it was a century ago due to both retreat and thinning . In the 14 @-@ year period from 1984 to 1998 , one section of the glacier atop the mountain receded 300 m ( 980 ft ) . A 2002 study determined that if current conditions continue , the glaciers atop Kilimanjaro will disappear sometime between 2015 and 2020 . A March 2005 report indicated that there is almost no remaining glacial ice on the mountain , and it is the first time in 11 @,@ 000 years that barren ground has been exposed on portions of the summit . Researchers reported Kilimanjaro 's glacier retreat was due to a combination of increased sublimation and decreased snow fall . 
