Climate
Astrakhan features a temperate continental "Aralian" semi-arid climate with cold winters and hot summers. Astrakhan is one of the driest cities in Europe. Rainfall is scarce but relatively evenly distributed throughout the course of the year with however more precipitation (58%) in the hot season (6 hottest months of the year) which determines the "Aralian" type (as opposed to the "Turkmenon" type with the wet season during the cold months).
It's this even distribution of rainfall and the relatively low annual temperature that causes the city to fall under this climate category as opposed to an arid climate.
Winters tend to be cold in the city, though by Russian standards, Astrakhan features relatively balmy winters. Summers in the city can be hot with high temperatures in excess of 40°C. The mean annual temperature amplitude (difference between the mean monthly temperatures of the hottest and coldest months) is thus equal to 29.2°C (= 25.6 in July - (-3.6 in January)), so the climate is truly continental (amplitudes superior or equal to 25°C determines continental climates, while in semi-continental climates amplitudes vary between 20°C and 25°C). Spring and fall are basically transitional seasons between summer and winter.
| Climate data for Astrakhan | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.0 (57.2) |
16.9 (62.4) |
24.0 (75.2) |
32.0 (89.6) |
36.8 (98.2) |
39.9 (103.8) |
41.0 (105.8) |
40.8 (105.4) |
38.0 (100.4) |
29.9 (85.8) |
21.6 (70.9) |
16.4 (61.5) |
41.0 (105.8) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −0.1 (31.8) |
0.7 (33.3) |
7.8 (46.0) |
17.4 (63.3) |
23.8 (74.8) |
29.3 (84.7) |
32.0 (89.6) |
30.7 (87.3) |
24.3 (75.7) |
16.3 (61.3) |
7.4 (45.3) |
1.2 (34.2) |
15.9 (60.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −3.6 (25.5) |
−3.7 (25.3) |
2.3 (36.1) |
11.1 (52.0) |
17.7 (63.9) |
23.1 (73.6) |
25.6 (78.1) |
24.0 (75.2) |
17.7 (63.9) |
10.4 (50.7) |
3.1 (37.6) |
−1.9 (28.6) |
10.5 (50.9) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −6.5 (20.3) |
−7.1 (19.2) |
−1.9 (28.6) |
5.9 (42.6) |
12.1 (53.8) |
17.4 (63.3) |
19.6 (67.3) |
18.0 (64.4) |
12.3 (54.1) |
5.9 (42.6) |
0.3 (32.5) |
−4.6 (23.7) |
6.0 (42.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −31.8 (−25.2) |
−33.8 (−28.8) |
−26.9 (−16.4) |
−8.9 (16.0) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
6.1 (43.0) |
10.1 (50.2) |
6.1 (43.0) |
−2 (28.4) |
−10.5 (13.1) |
−25.8 (−14.4) |
−29.9 (−21.8) |
−33.8 (−28.8) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 16 (0.63) |
12 (0.47) |
16 (0.63) |
23 (0.91) |
28 (1.1) |
25 (0.98) |
24 (0.94) |
20 (0.79) |
17 (0.67) |
18 (0.71) |
18 (0.71) |
16 (0.63) |
233 (9.17) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 40 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 86.8 | 110.2 | 164.3 | 225.0 | 294.5 | 315.0 | 331.7 | 310.0 | 252.0 | 179.8 | 84.0 | 58.9 | 2,412.2 |
| Source: Pogoda.ru.net, Hong Kong Observatory | |||||||||||||
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