Climate of Armenia

The climate of Armenia varies depending on the altitude of the respective region. Climates vary from cold desert on the lower parts of the Ararat plain, to tundra on mountain peaks. The following six basic types can be distinguished. Another type of climate is the dry continental type. It prevails mostly along the middle reaches of the Arax up to an elevation of 1,300 m. It differs from the dry subtropical climate by its cold winters.

Armenia map of Köppen climate classification.
Tundra climate, at the northern peak of Mt. Aragats.
Cold desert climate, at Goravan Sands Sanctuary.
Biomes of Europe and surrounding regions:
     tundra      alpine tundra      taiga      montane forest
     temperate broadleaf forest      mediterranean forest      temperate steppe      dry steppe

History

According to historical sources, in ancient times the winter was the same as it is today, fairly cold in the Armenian lowlands and high in the mountains. 4th century B.C. Greek historian Xenophon, in his Anabasis (The Retreat of the 10,000), which describes the retreat of 10,000 Greek mercenaries through the Armenian mountains into the autumn, related that at night, when the soldiers were asleep, snow fell in the mountains and covered the men and their weapons. He wrote that the snow that fell in one night was about one meter deep. In the same work he noted that the Armenians protected themselves against the freezing frost by rubbing fat or almond oil into their bodies. Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi (5th century A. D.) described the climate of the Ararat plain as hot and dry in the summer.

Human settlementHeightPrecipitation (mm)Daily mean °CAverage snow depthMaximum snow depthMinimum snow depthDays of snowHumidity %
Bagratashen45344411.7————72
Ijevan73256310.6102813873
Vanadzor13505867.4173837271
Stepanavan13976836.6195347373
Tashir15077135.8173727275
Spitak15524397.1125626369
Chambarak18615574.81637510274
Meghri62725913.852702161
Kapan70554411.5103223471
Artashat82923511.1104403965
Armavir86124411.3104204560
Yerevan94231611.4124604460
Yeghvard13174079.8286807462
Areni100935711.814——4056
Eghegnadzor126739810.818——5066
Sisian15803656.6123437368
Gyumri15564775.8266149670
Talin15824357.9246428259
Artik17505165.8225159566
Fantan17986406.050791312466
Aparan12916514.356921012569
Sevan19365564.03683313674
Mets Masrik19403904.22135710969
Martuni19954575.6267529867
Nshkhark23344882.7641023316072
Paghakn20045741.853811713874
Aragats (mount)33291065-2.71662356625273[1]
Climate data for Yerevan (1991–2020, extremes 1885–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 19.5
(67.1)		 19.6
(67.3)		 27.6
(81.7)		 35.0
(95.0)		 36.1
(97.0)		 41.1
(106.0)		 43.7
(110.7)		 42.0
(107.6)		 40.0
(104.0)		 34.1
(93.4)		 26.0
(78.8)		 20.0
(68.0)		 43.7
(110.7)
Average high °C (°F) 1.7
(35.1)		 6.3
(43.3)		 13.7
(56.7)		 19.8
(67.6)		 25.1
(77.2)		 30.9
(87.6)		 34.5
(94.1)		 34.4
(93.9)		 29.2
(84.6)		 21.6
(70.9)		 12.8
(55.0)		 4.2
(39.6)		 19.5
(67.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) −3.5
(25.7)		 0.0
(32.0)		 7.0
(44.6)		 12.9
(55.2)		 17.7
(63.9)		 23.1
(73.6)		 26.8
(80.2)		 26.7
(80.1)		 21.4
(70.5)		 14.0
(57.2)		 5.8
(42.4)		 −0.8
(30.6)		 12.6
(54.7)
Average low °C (°F) −7.8
(18.0)		 −5.4
(22.3)		 0.9
(33.6)		 6.4
(43.5)		 10.8
(51.4)		 15.1
(59.2)		 19.1
(66.4)		 18.9
(66.0)		 13.2
(55.8)		 7.1
(44.8)		 0.1
(32.2)		 −4.9
(23.2)		 6.1
(43.0)
Record low °C (°F) −27.6
(−17.7)		 −26
(−15)		 −19.1
(−2.4)		 −10.2
(13.6)		 −0.6
(30.9)		 3.7
(38.7)		 7.5
(45.5)		 7.9
(46.2)		 0.1
(32.2)		 −6.5
(20.3)		 −14.4
(6.1)		 −28.2
(−18.8)		 −28.2
(−18.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 21
(0.8)		 21
(0.8)		 60
(2.4)		 56
(2.2)		 47
(1.9)		 24
(0.9)		 17
(0.7)		 10
(0.4)		 10
(0.4)		 51
(2.0)		 25
(1.0)		 21
(0.8)		 363
(14.3)
Average extreme snow depth cm (inches) 5
(2.0)		 3
(1.2)		 1
(0.4)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 1
(0.4)		 5
(2.0)
Average rainy days 2 4 8 12 12 8 5 4 4 8 7 4 78
Average snowy days 7 7 2 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 1 5 22
Average relative humidity (%) 81 74 62 59 58 51 47 47 51 64 73 79 62
Mean monthly sunshine hours 92.6 125.4 177.3 206.7 263.0 321.6 352.4 332.5 293.0 221.2 148.0 87.3 2,620.8
Source 1: Pogoda.ru.net[2]
Source 2: World Meteorological Organization (sun 1981–2010)[3]

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy" (PDF). www.unccd.int. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Weather and Climate- The Climate of Yerevan" (in Russian). Weather and Climate (Погода и климат). Archived from the original on 19 December 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  3. "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1981–2010". World Meteorological Organization. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.


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