Drew, it's a snow cap that has been on top of the mountain for thousands of years basically remaining unchanged for that entire period up until now. Even if it happened during an el nino year, the fact remains the same that the snow cap is melting. It is also a fact that global temperatures have risen .6 celcius in the past century. Doesn't sound like a lot, but if you take into consideration that the difference between the ice age average temperatures and today's average temperatures, that difference is 6 degrees.
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_691864.html?menu=
http://www.esr.org.nz/events/even2000/g ... rming.html
[quote:f1798] The white cap of Kilimanjaro varies in size over the year, and may grow and shrink at intervals depending on solar influx, precipitation and other factors. But since 1912, there is clear evidence that the glaciers have shrunk consistently and dramatically. At the February 2001 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), researchers reported dramatic changes in the volume of ice capping the Kibo summit of Kilimanjaro. An estimated 82 % of the icecap that crowned the mountain when it was first thoroughly surveyed in 1912 is now gone, and the ice is thinning as well - by as much as a meter in one area. According to some projections, if recession continues at the present rate, the majority of the glaciers on Kilimanjaro could vanish in the next 15 years.[/quote:f1798]
http://www.grida.no/climate/vitalafrica/english/03.htm