Quetta - Geography and Climate

Geography and Climate

Quetta has a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with a significant variation between summer and winter temperatures. Summer starts in late May and goes on until early September with average temperatures ranging from 24–26 °C (75–78 °F).The highest temperature in Quetta is 42 °C (108 °F) which was recorded on 10 July 1998. Autumn starts in late September and continues until mid-November with average temperatures in the 12–18 °C (55–65 °F) range. Winter starts in late November and ends in late March, with average temperatures near 4–5 °C (39–41 °F).The lowest temperature in Quetta is −18.3 °C (−0.9400000 °F) which was recorded on 8 January 1970. Spring starts in early April and ends in late May, with average temperatures close to 15 °C (60 °F). Unlike more easterly parts of Pakistan, Quetta does not have a monsoon season of heavy rainfall. Highest rainfall during 24 hours in Quetta is 113 millimetres (4.4 in) which was recorded on 17 December 2000., Highest monthly rainfall is 232.4 millimetres (9.15 in) which was recorded in March, 1982. and the highest annual rainfall is 949.8 millimetres (37.39 in) recorded in 1982. In the winter snow is the principle precipitation with snow falling mostly in the months of December, January and February.

The city saw a severe drought from 1999 to 2001, during the drought the city did not receive snowfall and received below normal rains. In 2003 the city received snowfall after a long period of five years. In 2004, and 2005 the city received normal rains after three years with snowfall while in 2006, 2007 and 2009 the city received no snow except in 2008 when Quetta received a snowfall of four inches in four hours on 29 January 2008. On 2 February 2008 Quetta received ten inches of snow in just 10 hours which was the heaviest snowfall for the city in the last ten years. During the winter of 2010 it received no snow and saw below normal rains due to the presence of El-Nino over Pakistan.

Quetta has an area of 2,653 km2 (1,024 sq mi) and consists of series of valleys which act as a natural fort surrounded on all sides by hills named Chiltan, Takatoo, Murdar and Zarghun. There are no natural boundaries between Quetta and its adjoining districts of Dera Ismail Khan to the northeast, Dera Ghazi Khan and Sibi to the east, Sukkur and Jacobabad to the southeast, Karachi and Gawadar to the south and Ziarat to the northeast. The closest major city is Kandahar in Afghanistan which is located to the west of the Quetta.