Geography and Climate
The city is located in the lush plain of the Zayandeh River, at the foothills of the Zagros mountain range. No geological obstacles exist within 90 km north of Isfahan, allowing cool northern winds to blow from this direction. Situated at 1,590 metres (5,217 ft) above sea level on the eastern side of the Zagros Mountains, Isfahan has an arid climate (Köppen BWk). Despite its altitude, Isfahan remains very hot during the summer with maxima typically around 36 °C (97 °F). However, with low humidity and moderate temperatures at night, the climate can be very pleasant. During the winter, days are mild but nights can be very cold and snow has occurred at least once every winter except 1986/1987 and 1989/1990. However, on the whole Isfahan’s climate is extremely cold in winter.
| Climate data for Isfahan | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 20 (68) |
23 (73) |
27 (81) |
32 (90) |
37.6 (99.7) |
41 (106) |
43 (109) |
42 (108) |
39 (102) |
33.2 (91.8) |
25.5 (77.9) |
21.2 (70.2) |
43 (109) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 9.2 (48.6) |
12.5 (54.5) |
17.0 (62.6) |
22.7 (72.9) |
28.2 (82.8) |
34.3 (93.7) |
36.7 (98.1) |
35.6 (96.1) |
31.8 (89.2) |
25 (77) |
17 (63) |
11 (52) |
23.42 (74.16) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −2.5 (27.5) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
4.1 (39.4) |
9.3 (48.7) |
13.7 (56.7) |
18.5 (65.3) |
21.0 (69.8) |
19.1 (66.4) |
14.7 (58.5) |
8.9 (48.0) |
3.2 (37.8) |
−1 (30) |
9.05 (48.29) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −19.4 (−2.9) |
−12.2 (10.0) |
−6.2 (20.8) |
−4 (25) |
4.5 (40.1) |
10 (50) |
13 (55) |
11 (52) |
5 (41) |
0 (32) |
−8 (18) |
−13 (9) |
−19.4 (−2.9) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 19.9 (0.783) |
14.2 (0.559) |
21.7 (0.854) |
18.9 (0.744) |
8.7 (0.343) |
1.2 (0.047) |
1.7 (0.067) |
0.3 (0.012) |
0.1 (0.004) |
3.9 (0.154) |
12.5 (0.492) |
19.7 (0.776) |
122.8 (4.835) |
| % humidity | 60 | 50 | 43 | 40 | 34 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 28 | 38 | 50 | 60 | 39.9 |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 4.0 | 2.9 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 23.9 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 203.6 | 216.8 | 243.7 | 250.0 | 308.7 | 348.3 | 349.4 | 339.7 | 311.3 | 281.5 | 224.2 | 197.0 | 3,274.2 |
| Source: Synoptic Stations Statistics | |||||||||||||
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