Nama Karoo is a xeric shrubland ecoregion located on the central plateau of South Africa and Namibia.

[1] The climate of the Nama Karoo tends to be volatile, unpredictable and rather harsh, with only the most specially-adapted organisms calling the region home.

The annual ‘dry’ season—a time of blistering hot weather and drought—is long, often taking place over autumn and winter, and into early spring.

This time of plenty can also vary, with total measured rainfall fluctuating between 100 and 520 millimetres (3.94 and 20.47 in) per year.

As the climate changes, inter-annual rainfall trends become varied, and unpredictability comes to be expected, especially with increasingly prolonged periods of aridity.