University of Khartoum degrees completed their programs in 1950. The next year, Gordon Memorial College was formally renamed University College Khartoum, which incorporated the Kitchener School of Medicine. When Sudan gained independence in 1956, the new Parliament passed a bill to award university status to Khartoum University College. It officially became Khartoum University on 24 July 1956. The eminent horticultural scientist John Pilkington Hudson was a visiting professor in 1961-3, who founded its department of horticulture. On 5 April 1984, the Government announced the closure of all faculties of the university. The university was reopened fully on August 1. The university was closed
Khartoum main Nile ("see map, upper right") as it zigzags through northern Sudan into Egypt at Lake Nasser. Khartoum is relatively flat, at elevation , as the Nile flows northeast past Omdurman to Shendi, at elevation about away. Under Köppen's climate classification system, Khartoum features a hot arid climate, with only the summer months seeing noticeable precipitation. The city averages a little over of precipitation per year. Based on annual mean temperatures, the city is one of the hottest major cities in the world. Temperatures routinely exceed in mid-summer. Its average annual high temperature is , with six months of the