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Climatic Conditions and Water Availability in the Middle East
The Center East is really an area dominated by arid and semi-arid lands, with substantial places of extreme aridity.
In the northern section of the area, a steppe climate prevails, with cold winters and warm summers.
A narrow zone contiguous to the Mediterranean Sea is classified like a Mediterranean zone, with wet and moderately comfortable winters and dry summers, whereas the central and southern component using the core of the Arabian peninsula is very dried out with very warm summers and moderate temperatures in winter.
Water is a very restricted resource.
Droughts, desertification, and drinking water shortages are permanent features of life in most of the countries within the area.
Their native plants and animals are adapted to coping with sequences of severe climatic problems.
Across the Middle East, summer temperatures are usually around 30° C, but frequently soar above 40° C.
In the Saudi desert, however, temperatures over 45° C are typical.
During the summer, winds blow unabated toward the warm interior from the Arabian Peninsula, whereas in winter the winds in the south blow off the land.
In northern regions, continental winds brings some rain out for the coasts and the mountain ridges behind.
Rainfall is low in most section of the area, but it's highly variable seasonally and inter-annually.
Except from the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula with summer time rains, precipitation occurs Within the Middle East during winter.
The summer dried out period lasts for 6-10 months (UNEP, 1997).
Average yearly rainfall ranges from 0 mm to 200 mm, only within the north-western components along the Mediterranean Sea, down from Turkey till Lebanon and also the northern parts of Palestine and Jordan the values exceed 500 mm and more.
There was no discernible trend in annual precipitation throughout the last century (1901-99) for that area like a whole, nor in most parts from the region-except in the south-western part of the Arabian Peninsula, exactly where there was an significant improve, nevertheless, in relation to a very lower base rainfall.
In typical with other countries in this drinking water scarce region of the northern aridic belt the Center East has chronic difficulties of drinking water resources.
The area is facing a tremendous imbalance between the available water means and the demand,exactly where water shortage is becoming of permanent nature.
Due to its scarcity drinking water is really a precious resource that is of essential significance to the socio-economic improvement of the Middle East.
In the northern section of the area, a steppe climate prevails, with cold winters and warm summers.
A narrow zone contiguous to the Mediterranean Sea is classified like a Mediterranean zone, with wet and moderately comfortable winters and dry summers, whereas the central and southern component using the core of the Arabian peninsula is very dried out with very warm summers and moderate temperatures in winter.
Water is a very restricted resource.
Droughts, desertification, and drinking water shortages are permanent features of life in most of the countries within the area.
Their native plants and animals are adapted to coping with sequences of severe climatic problems.
Across the Middle East, summer temperatures are usually around 30° C, but frequently soar above 40° C.
In the Saudi desert, however, temperatures over 45° C are typical.
During the summer, winds blow unabated toward the warm interior from the Arabian Peninsula, whereas in winter the winds in the south blow off the land.
In northern regions, continental winds brings some rain out for the coasts and the mountain ridges behind.
Rainfall is low in most section of the area, but it's highly variable seasonally and inter-annually.
Except from the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula with summer time rains, precipitation occurs Within the Middle East during winter.
The summer dried out period lasts for 6-10 months (UNEP, 1997).
Average yearly rainfall ranges from 0 mm to 200 mm, only within the north-western components along the Mediterranean Sea, down from Turkey till Lebanon and also the northern parts of Palestine and Jordan the values exceed 500 mm and more.
There was no discernible trend in annual precipitation throughout the last century (1901-99) for that area like a whole, nor in most parts from the region-except in the south-western part of the Arabian Peninsula, exactly where there was an significant improve, nevertheless, in relation to a very lower base rainfall.
In typical with other countries in this drinking water scarce region of the northern aridic belt the Center East has chronic difficulties of drinking water resources.
The area is facing a tremendous imbalance between the available water means and the demand,exactly where water shortage is becoming of permanent nature.
Due to its scarcity drinking water is really a precious resource that is of essential significance to the socio-economic improvement of the Middle East.