Iran
Climate
Iran has a variable climate. In the northwest, winters are cold
with heavy snowfall and subfreezing temperatures during December
and January. Spring and fall are relatively mild, while summers
are dry and hot. In the south, winters are mild and the summers
are very hot, having average daily temperatures in July exceeding
38° C. On the Khuzestan plain, summer heat is accompanied
by high humidity.
In general, Iran has an arid climate in which most of the relatively
scant annual precipitation falls from October through April. In
most of the country, yearly precipitation averages 25 centimeters
or less. The major exceptions are the higher mountain valleys
of the Zagros and the Caspian coastal plain, where precipitation
averages at least 50 centimeters annually. In the western part
of the Caspian, rainfall exceeds 100 centimeters annually and
is distributed relatively evenly throughout the year. This contrasts
with some basins of the Central Plateau that receive ten centimeters
or less of precipitation annually.
Data as of December 1987
|