Central Afghan highlands
Central Afghan Highlands
افغانستان کوهستانی ( UTC+4:30 |
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The central Afghan highlands, or the Afghan Highlands (
The region contains about 225,000 km2 (87,000 sq mi) of summer pasture, which is used by both settled communities and nomadic pastoralists like the
The region includes Bamyan, Ghazni, Ghor, Logar, Nuristan, Paktia, Paktika, Panjshir, Parwan, and Maidan Wardak provinces, most of Badakhshan, Daykundi, Kabul, and Zabul, and adjacent parts of some neighboring provinces. It is inhabited by the Hazaras, Kyrgyz, Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Wakhis, and other tribes.[1]
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Man_with_cap_probably_Scythian%2C_Bamiyan_3-4th_century.jpg/250px-Man_with_cap_probably_Scythian%2C_Bamiyan_3-4th_century.jpg)
The Highlands were a part of the wider region inhabited by Indo-Iranian tribes in ancient times, who called themselves Arya or Ārya. According to the scholar Michael Witzel, Airyanem Vaejah, i.e. "(the country) of the Aryan Springs" or "Aryan Rapids", which was mentioned in the Vendidad list in the Avesta as the first and best of the "16 Aryan countries" created by Ahura Mazda, was in the central Afghan highlands. Witzel stated that the Vendidad list "obviously was composed or redacted by someone who regarded Afghanistan and the lands surrounding it as the home of all Aryans (Airiia), that is of all (eastern) Iranians, with Airyanem Vaejah as their center."
He added that Airyanem Vaejah "is also centrally located in terms of Avestan economy: all Airiia could use it during the two months of summer as pasture, just as the modern Afghans still do. The Highlands are, typical for early societies, not exactly a no man's land, but are a common territory, used, with partially overlapping pasture rights, by all Airiia."[3]
Geography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Jam_Qasr_Zarafshan.jpg/250px-Jam_Qasr_Zarafshan.jpg)
The Highlands are cut through by the
There are about 4,000 glaciers with an overall area of about 2,700 km2, mostly located between 4,000 and 5,000 m above sea level. Most of the glaciers occur in the east, mostly on north-facing slopes which are shaded by mountain peaks, or on the eastern slopes which are shaded by monsoon clouds. The glaciers are a major source of water for drinking and irrigation. However, they are now showing signs of shrinking and retreating due to climate change.[5]
The Badashkhan area in the northeastern part of the Highlands is the epicenter of many of the earthquakes in Afghanistan.[2]
Climate
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Snow_covered_mountains_outside_of_Salang_tunnel_in_Afghanistan.jpg/250px-Snow_covered_mountains_outside_of_Salang_tunnel_in_Afghanistan.jpg)
The Highlands have a very cold winter and the temperature in January can reach below −30 °C (−22 °F). In winter and early spring, the weather is significantly influenced by cold air masses from the north and northwest. Snow generally falls from November to March or April, with occasional snowfalls as early as October. On the southern slopes of the Hindu Kush exceeding 4,000 m, it can snow at anytime of the year including in high summer. The permanent snow line in the region ranges from 4,600 to 5,600 m, although glaciers and firns can also be found as low as 3,500 m.[6] The summer is short and cool in the Highlands, and is mostly cloudless everywhere but in the eastern monsoon region.
The precipitation varies considerably with topography, generally decreasing from the east to the arid west. For example, the annual mean precipitation is 992 mm (39 inches) at North Salang in the east, but only 133 mm (5 inches) at Bamyan in the west.
Climate data for Panjab, Afghanistan (altitude: 2,710 m) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −10.4 (13.3) |
−9.4 (15.1) |
−3.4 (25.9) |
4.1 (39.4) |
14.6 (58.3) |
19.7 (67.5) |
22.9 (73.2) |
22.4 (72.3) |
18.7 (65.7) |
12.1 (53.8) |
1.1 (34.0) |
−7.5 (18.5) |
7.1 (44.8) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | −15.3 (4.5) |
−13.7 (7.3) |
−8.2 (17.2) |
−1.3 (29.7) |
7.0 (44.6) |
11.5 (52.7) |
14.4 (57.9) |
14.1 (57.4) |
10.6 (51.1) |
5.1 (41.2) |
−4.8 (23.4) |
−13.2 (8.2) |
0.5 (32.9) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −20.1 (−4.2) |
−18 (0) |
−12.9 (8.8) |
−6.7 (19.9) |
−0.7 (30.7) |
3.2 (37.8) |
5.9 (42.6) |
5.8 (42.4) |
2.5 (36.5) |
−1.9 (28.6) |
−10.7 (12.7) |
−18.8 (−1.8) |
−6.0 (21.2) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 53 (2.1) |
71 (2.8) |
75 (3.0) |
56 (2.2) |
41 (1.6) |
11 (0.4) |
3 (0.1) |
2 (0.1) |
2 (0.1) |
13 (0.5) |
30 (1.2) |
37 (1.5) |
394 (15.6) |
Source: Climate-Data.org[7] |
References
- ^ a b c d Ali, Aziz; Shaoliang, Yi. "Highland Rangelands of Afghanistan: Significance, Management Issues, and Strategies" (PDF). Lalitpur, Nepal: International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development: 10. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
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(help) - ^ a b Afghanistan: Physiographic regions. Britannica.com.
- ^ M. Witzel, "The Home Of The Aryans", Festschrift J. Narten = Münchener Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft, Beihefte NF 19, Dettelbach: J.H. Röll 2000, 283–338. Also published online, at Harvard University (LINK)
- ^ "Forests of Afghanistan" (PDF). cropwatch.unl.edu. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ "Shrinking, Thinning, Retreating: Afghan glaciers under threat from climate change". Afghanistan Analysts Network - English. January 5, 2021.
- ^ "BARF "SNOW"". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- ^ "Climate: Punjab - Climate-Data.org". Retrieved 9 September 2016.