Geography of Eritrea
Climate
The climate of Eritrea is shaped by its diverse topography and its location within the tropics. The diversity in landscape and topography in the highlands and lowlands of Eritrea results in the diversity of climate across the country. The highlands have temperate climate throughout the year. The climate of most lowland zones is arid and semiarid. The distribution of rainfall and vegetation types varies markedly throughout the country. Eritrean climate varies on the basis of seasonal and altitudinal differences. Based on variations in temperature Eritrea can be broadly divided into three major climate zones: a temperate zone, a subtropical climate zone and a tropical climate zone.[1]
Eritrea can be divided into three major climate zones: the central highlands, the coastal region, and the western lowlands. Each has a different climate pattern. According to
In the central highlands, the hottest month is usually May to June with highs around 27 °C (80.6 °F) to 30 °C (86 °F). Winter is between December and February with lows at night that can be near freezing point. Asmara itself enjoys a pleasant climate all year round, although it can be quite cold at night in winter. There are two rainy seasons: the short rains in March and April and the main rains from late June to the beginning of September. Over there, the climate is usually sunny and dry as sunshine durations turn around 3,000 h and averages annual rainfall hover around 500 mm (19.68 in).[1]
On the coast along the
In the western lowlands, the high temperatures are comparable to those on the coast in the hottest months of April until June. December is the coolest month with averages low temperatures falling as low as 15 °C (59 °F). The rainy seasons are the same as for the highlands.[1]
| Climate data for Asmara (1961–1990, extremes 1903–2012) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.3 (72.1) |
23.8 (74.8) |
25.1 (77.2) |
25.1 (77.2) |
25.0 (77.0) |
24.9 (76.8) |
21.6 (70.9) |
21.5 (70.7) |
22.9 (73.2) |
21.7 (71.1) |
21.5 (70.7) |
21.5 (70.7) |
23.1 (73.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 13.8 (56.8) |
14.9 (58.8) |
16.3 (61.3) |
17.0 (62.6) |
17.6 (63.7) |
17.6 (63.7) |
16.3 (61.3) |
16.1 (61.0) |
15.7 (60.3) |
14.9 (58.8) |
14.0 (57.2) |
13.2 (55.8) |
15.6 (60.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 4.3 (39.7) |
5.1 (41.2) |
7.5 (45.5) |
8.7 (47.7) |
10.2 (50.4) |
10.5 (50.9) |
10.8 (51.4) |
10.7 (51.3) |
8.6 (47.5) |
8.1 (46.6) |
6.6 (43.9) |
4.8 (40.6) |
8.0 (46.4) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 3.7 (0.15) |
2.0 (0.08) |
14.6 (0.57) |
33.4 (1.31) |
41.1 (1.62) |
38.5 (1.52) |
174.9 (6.89) |
155.6 (6.13) |
15.6 (0.61) |
15.4 (0.61) |
20.4 (0.80) |
3.4 (0.13) |
518.6 (20.42) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 47 |
| Average relative humidity (%)
|
54 | 48 | 46 | 49 | 48 | 48 | 76 | 80 | 59 | 63 | 66 | 61 | 58.2 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 291.4 | 260.4 | 275.9 | 264.0 | 257.3 | 219.0 | 151.9 | 158.1 | 213.0 | 272.8 | 276.0 | 282.1 | 2,921.9 |
| Mean daily sunshine hours | 9.4 | 9.3 | 8.9 | 8.8 | 8.3 | 7.3 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 7.1 | 8.8 | 9.2 | 9.1 | 8.0 |
| Source 1: NOAA[2] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)[3] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Assab (1961–1990, extremes 1937–1990) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 37.0 (98.6) |
37.0 (98.6) |
40.0 (104.0) |
43.0 (109.4) |
43.2 (109.8) |
46.2 (115.2) |
49.0 (120.2) |
48.4 (119.1) |
46.8 (116.2) |
43.0 (109.4) |
39.0 (102.2) |
36.5 (97.7) |
49.0 (120.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 31.3 (88.3) |
31.7 (89.1) |
33.8 (92.8) |
36.0 (96.8) |
37.0 (98.6) |
38.5 (101.3) |
41.2 (106.2) |
40.9 (105.6) |
38.1 (100.6) |
36.5 (97.7) |
33.9 (93.0) |
31.6 (88.9) |
35.5 (95.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.3 (79.3) |
26.7 (80.1) |
28.5 (83.3) |
30.5 (86.9) |
32.0 (89.6) |
33.1 (91.6) |
35.0 (95.0) |
34.6 (94.3) |
32.9 (91.2) |
31.2 (88.2) |
28.8 (83.8) |
26.9 (80.4) |
30.5 (86.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 21.3 (70.3) |
21.7 (71.1) |
23.2 (73.8) |
25.1 (77.2) |
27.0 (80.6) |
28.5 (83.3) |
30.3 (86.5) |
29.9 (85.8) |
28.5 (83.3) |
26.0 (78.8) |
23.7 (74.7) |
22.2 (72.0) |
25.6 (78.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 11.9 (53.4) |
12.4 (54.3) |
13.7 (56.7) |
14.0 (57.2) |
14.4 (57.9) |
17.5 (63.5) |
19.6 (67.3) |
19.9 (67.8) |
16.0 (60.8) |
15.0 (59.0) |
14.5 (58.1) |
12.1 (53.8) |
11.9 (53.4) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 4.0 (0.16) |
6.7 (0.26) |
1.8 (0.07) |
3.6 (0.14) |
1.7 (0.07) |
0.2 (0.01) |
6.9 (0.27) |
2.8 (0.11) |
1.1 (0.04) |
1.0 (0.04) |
4.5 (0.18) |
4.8 (0.19) |
39.1 (1.54) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Average relative humidity (%)
|
62 | 68 | 61 | 54 | 58 | 57 | 50 | 54 | 62 | 54 | 55 | 61 | 58 |
| Source 1: NOAA,[4] Deutscher Wetterdienst (humidity, 1937–1970)[5] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)[6] | |||||||||||||
Data
Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan, also bordering Ethiopia.
Geographic coordinates: 15°00′N 39°00′E / 15.000°N 39.000°E
Continent: Africa
Area:
total:
117,600 km2
land:
101,000 km2
water:
16,600 km2
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Malawi
Land boundaries:
total:
1,840 km
border countries:
Djibouti 125 km, Ethiopia 1,033 km, Sudan 682 km
Note that the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia is disputed.
Coastline: 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
Terrain: dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains
Ecoregions: Most of Eritrea's coast is part of the
Elevation extremes:
lowest point:
near
highest point:
Natural resources: gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly petroleum and natural gas, fish
Land use:
arable land:
6.83%
permanent crops:
0.02%
other:
93.15% (2012 est.)
Irrigated land: 215.9 km2 (2003)
Total renewable water resources: 6.3 km3
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total:
0.58 km3/yr (5%/0%/95%)
per capita:
121.3 m3/yr (2004)
Natural hazards: frequent droughts, rare earthquakes and volcanic activity, and locust storms
Environment - current issues: deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare;
Environment - international agreements:
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
Geography - note: strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993.
Extreme points
This is a list of the extreme points of Eritrea, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.
- Northernmost point - the point at which the border with Northern Red Sea region
- Easternmost point - the point at which the border with Southern Red Sea Region
- Southernmost point - unnamed location on the border with Dadda`to, Southern Red Sea Region
- Westernmost point - Gash-Barka
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-59884-232-6.
- ^ "Asmara Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- ^ "Station Asmara" (in French). Meteo Climat. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ^ "Assab Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
- ^ "Klimatafel von Assab (Aseb) / Eritrea" (PDF). Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 31, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
- ^ "Station Assab" (in French). Meteo Climat. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook.
