Climatological situation in Syria
Syria, Environment, 3/5/1999

Syria is administratively divided into 14 muhafazats (provinces). Each province is generally divided into mantik (districts), each district is further divided into smaller administrative units called "nawahi," each nahia covers a number of villages, and the village is the smallest administrative unit.

The climate in Syria is determined mainly by its location next to the Mediterranean Sea. This climate may be characterized by rainy winters and a dry and hot summer separated by two short transitional seasons.

From the climatic point of view, Syria may be divided into four regions. The decisive factor in this division is the quantity of rainfall, which is affected by the position of the ranges of the Syrian mountain region together with the position of the western Lebanese mountain ranges.

The coastal region is characterized by heavy rainfall in winter and a moderate temperature and high relative humidity in summer. The interior zone is characterized by a rainy winter and hot and dry season during summer.

The daily differences in the maximum and minimum temperatures in the interior region during the Summer season are high and subject to large fluctuations. The areas in the mountains with an altitude of 1,000 meters may exceed 1000 mm, with a moderate climate in summer. The desert region is characterized by a small quantity of rainfall in winter and a hot dry summer. The atmosphere in the coastal area in Syria is characterized by a high rate of relative humidity during winter and a low rate of relative humidity in summer. As for the coastal strip, due to the effect of the sea, the contrary is the normal case.

It is also observed that the lowest relative humidity in the interior varies from 20-50% and from 70-80% in the coastal strip. The rate during winter varies from 60-80% in the interior and from 60-70% along the coast.

During the winter, the winds in the eastern parts of the country are easterly, and in both the northern and the northwestern parts they are northerly, while other parts of the country are subject to westerly and southwesterly winds.

During Summer the prevailing winds in the northeastern parts of the country are northerly and the remaining parts of the country are subject to westerly and southwesterly winds. The coastal region is subject to sea winds which are very westerly in the day and become reserved at night.

Some local winds blow over a number of regions during both summer and winter for limited periods only. The Damascus region, in particular, is subject to northwesterly winds which blow continuously every afternoon.

The daily differences between the maximum and the minimum temperatures are generally quite high in most of the country. This difference some times reaches 23 degrees C in interior areas, 13 degrees in coastal areas. The daily fluctuations in temperature are greater in the interior and desert areas as compared with the more moderate areas on the coast or in the high-altitude mountainous areas, where it is frequently 25 degrees.

December and January are the coldest months of the year while July and August are the hottest months. In winter the temperature frequently falls under 0 degrees C, but rarely under -10 C, while in summer it may rise frequently up to 48 C.

During winter, snow falls all over regions, with an altitude exceeding 1,500 m above sea level. Regions with an altitude of 800- 1,500 are subject to both rain and snow. Other regions with lower altitudes are subject to rain but rarely to snow. In desert regions even sufficient rain seldom falls.

Rain falls continuously or at intervals. Frequently thunderstorms accompanied by heavy showers to occur during winter and the intensity of such showers reaches 75 mm in 24 hours in some regions.

The mountain and coastal regions are the regions of heaviest rain. The country from time to time is subject to dry season, and the rain shortage leads to a great decrease in agricultural production.

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