Iran the Land of Four Seasons
When you decide to travel to a specific destination, you cannot ignore its climate. Iran’s climate has a special chapter for itself.
Climate is important. Not just because of how it designs the geographical landscape and natural features but also because it directly has an impact on how cultures and traditions, even the belief system of civilizations are built.
When Iran for instance, has faced drought most of its lifetime, many rituals are formed precisely to bring the water back. Water goddesses emerge and every pond becomes sacred.
If you stay as a guest and your departure date arrives, just watch the tradition. They escort you to the door with a bowl of water. If Iran’s climate was like the Amazons, would water still make these tractions?
On the other hand, the climate of each region is undoubtedly an effective factor in determining the architectural form of that region. The solutions that the inhabitants of different regions have taken for centuries to build their shelters and adapted to the climatic conditions of the region are praiseworthy.
These methods have amazingly reduced the difficult conditions of the region and benefited from its useful aspects. Therefore, getting to know Iran’s climates will hopefully, make you more prepared for your trip.
To start you must know that, twenty-five to forty degrees desert and semi-desert areas occupy more than half of the country and affect Iran’s climate.
About one-third of Iran is mountainous and then there is a small part of Iran like the southern plains of the Caspian Sea and the plains of Khuzestan are fertile plains.
Iran’s climate has a high diversity. From the north to the south of the country, one could gradually experience different climatic zones.
Iran’s climate could be considered as arid and semi-arid in terms of rainfall. The annual rainfall varies in different parts of the country and different seasons of the year.
Now, why do they call it “the Land of Four Seasons”?
Iran’s climate has made the land, one of the few countries in the world where four seasons are well visible. Not just in the whole country but even in one province, at a specific time, you could enjoy all the climate changes possible.
This climate characteristic of the country is because of the Siberian high-pressure systems, the Mediterranean rain system, and the southern low-pressure system.
In addition to that, the existence of high mountains, vast plains, deserts, rivers, and different lakes are other factors to diversify Iran’s climate.
The difference in temperature in winter between the hottest and coldest point of Iran sometimes reaches more than 50 degrees Celsius. Meaning that when the temperature of a town in Kurdistan province reaches 30 degrees below zero at night in winter, the temperature in Ahvaz is about 25 degrees above zero.
To sum it up Iran’s climate code goes like this: the northern coasts of Iran have hot and humid weather in summer and moderate in winter, the northwestern and western regions have mild summers and cold winters, the southern and southeastern regions of Iran have extremely hot summers and mild and spring winters, while the central provinces experience all four seasons.
The northern coasts of Iran’s average rainfall are higher than any other region. The tall Mount Alborz in those parts has abundant vegetation and forests.
In most seasons the Caspian Sea region is 25 to 30 degrees during the day and between 20 and 23 degrees at night and the humidity very high. Precipitation and humidity in the temperate and humid areas along the coastline, from east to west.
If you move down, to the central parts, you would find Iran’s climate different. The central parts are where the Deserts and salt-pans are located, a significant hot and dry region.
The dry winds in these areas could be very annoying though the desert sky is clear and cloudless most of the year and beautiful to watch. Rainfall is low and haze and storms occur a lot.
Low rainfall has reduced the level of vegetation in this area. There is a big difference between day and night temperatures in hot and dry climates. If it rains it is usually very heavy but short.
Despite the deserts, Iran has two main mountain range that has a clear impact on creating “the Land of four seasons”.
The Alborz and Zagros mountain ranges separate the central regions of Iran from the Caspian Sea in the north and the Mesopotamian plain in the west. There are also mountains individually in central and eastern Iran, including Mount Taftan and Shir Kooh. The western slopes of the Zagros Mountains, are among the coldest regions of Iran.
Consecutive snow covers most of their peaks. There is always snow at altitudes above 3000 meters and these mountains are the source of rivers and aqueducts in the country.
Then again, there is a narrow and relatively long coastline that is more than two thousand kilometers which starts from Arvand River in the southwest of Khuzestan province and ends at the Gwadar Bay in the southeast of Sistan and Baluchestan province.
Iran’s climate in this region is also humid but because it is closer to the Equator, it is also very hot and winter is short.
Since most of the soil on these coastlines is calcareous and vegetation is rare, rain cannot sink into the ground. Even a little could cause a flood.
Having special geographical conditions creates “the Land of Four Seasons”. Therefore, Iran’s climate change is unique and so, as a natural result, it has made Iran rich and beautiful in terms of natural attractions.
Each corner has a specific natural landscape. Iran is an ancient land yes, we must give it that but “the Land of Four Seasons” also has a series of mountains, plains, deserts, salt-pans, waterfalls, forests, rivers, lakes, coastlines, islands, volcanoes, and caves.
These aspects of nature have their exclusive wildlife too. Many different types of species live here because of Iran’s climate variety.
It all comes to this, what are you looking for in a destination. Sometimes the purpose of your journey gives you the clues to look for special destinations.
Iran offers everything. It’s like the perfect package.