East Africa Coastal Current

The East Africa Coastal Current is a warm surface current in the western Indian Ocean. It is part of the Indian South Equatorial Current, which flows westward due to the southeast trade winds. As this current approaches the coast of Africa, it is directed southward. A portion of this flow moves northward along the coast, forming the East Africa Coastal Current.1

This current is influenced by the monsoon winds. During the northern summer, the southwest monsoon causes the current to flow northeastward along the coast of East Africa. When the monsoon reverses to the northeast in winter, the Somali Current weakens and eventually disappears, replaced by a slow southwestward drift. The East Africa Coastal Current, along with the Mozambique Current, eventually feeds into the Agulhas Current.231