In Armenia, climates vary from cold desert and cold steppe on the lower parts of the Ararat plain, to tundra on mountain peaks, and a humid continental climate in the inner parts. The following six basic types can be distinguished. Another type of climate is the dry continental type. It prevails mostly along the middle reaches of the Arax up to an elevation of 1,300 m. It differs from the dry subtropical climate by its cold winters.

Armenia map of Köppen climate classification.
Tundra climate, at the northern peak of Mt. Aragats.
Cold desert climate, at Goravan Sands Sanctuary.

History

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Biomes of Europe and surrounding regions:
     tundra      alpine tundra      taiga      montane forest
     temperate broadleaf forest      mediterranean forest      temperate steppe      dry steppe

According to historical sources, in ancient times the winter was the same as it is today, fairly cold in the Armenian lowlands and high in the mountains. 4th century B.C. Greek historian Xenophon, in his Anabasis (The Retreat of the 10,000), which describes the retreat of 10,000 Greek mercenaries through the Armenian mountains into the autumn, related that at night, when the soldiers were asleep, snow fell in the mountains and covered the men and their weapons. He wrote that the snow that fell in one night was about one meter deep. In the same work he noted that the Armenians protected themselves against the freezing frost by rubbing fat or almond oil into their bodies. Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi (5th century A. D.) described the climate of the Ararat plain as hot and dry in the summer.

Human settlement Height Precipitation (mm) Daily mean °C Average snow depth Maximum snow depth Minimum snow depth Days of snow cover Humidity %
Bagratashen 453 444 11.7 72
Ijevan 732 563 10.6 10 28 1 38 73
Vanadzor 1350 586 7.4 17 38 3 72 71
Stepanavan 1397 683 6.6 19 53 4 73 73
Tashir 1507 713 5.8 17 37 2 72 75
Spitak 1552 439 7.1 12 56 2 63 69
Chambarak 1861 557 4.8 16 37 5 102 74
Meghri 627 259 13.8 5 27 0 21 61
Kapan 705 544 11.5 10 32 2 34 71
Artashat 829 235 11.1 10 44 0 39 65
Armavir 861 244 11.3 10 42 0 45 60
Yerevan 942 316 11.4 12 46 0 44 60
Yeghvard 1317 407 9.8 28 68 0 74 62
Areni 1009 357 11.8 14 40 56
Eghegnadzor 1267 398 10.8 18 50 66
Sisian 1580 365 6.6 12 34 3 73 68
Gyumri 1556 477 5.8 26 61 4 96 70
Talin 1582 435 7.9 24 64 2 82 59
Artik 1750 516 5.8 22 51 5 95 66
Fantan 1798 640 6.0 50 79 13 124 66
Aparan 1291 651 4.3 56 92 10 125 69
Sevan 1936 556 4.0 36 83 3 136 74
Mets Masrik 1940 390 4.2 21 35 7 109 69
Martuni 1995 457 5.6 26 75 2 98 67
Nshkhark 2334 488 2.7 64 102 33 160 72
Paghakn 2004 574 1.8 53 81 17 138 74
Aragats (mount) 3329 1065 -2.7 166 235 66 252 73[1]

Data for selected stations

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Climate data for Yerevan (1991–2020, extremes 1885–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 19.5
(67.1)
19.6
(67.3)
27.6
(81.7)
35.0
(95.0)
36.1
(97.0)
41.1
(106.0)
43.7
(110.7)
42.0
(107.6)
40.0
(104.0)
34.1
(93.4)
26.0
(78.8)
20.0
(68.0)
43.7
(110.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 1.7
(35.1)
6.3
(43.3)
13.7
(56.7)
19.8
(67.6)
25.1
(77.2)
30.9
(87.6)
34.5
(94.1)
34.4
(93.9)
29.2
(84.6)
21.6
(70.9)
12.8
(55.0)
4.2
(39.6)
19.5
(67.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) −3.5
(25.7)
0.0
(32.0)
7.0
(44.6)
12.9
(55.2)
17.7
(63.9)
23.1
(73.6)
26.8
(80.2)
26.7
(80.1)
21.4
(70.5)
14.0
(57.2)
5.8
(42.4)
−0.8
(30.6)
12.6
(54.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −7.8
(18.0)
−5.4
(22.3)
0.9
(33.6)
6.4
(43.5)
10.8
(51.4)
15.1
(59.2)
19.1
(66.4)
18.9
(66.0)
13.2
(55.8)
7.1
(44.8)
0.1
(32.2)
−4.9
(23.2)
6.1
(43.0)
Record low °C (°F) −27.6
(−17.7)
−26
(−15)
−19.1
(−2.4)
−10.2
(13.6)
−0.6
(30.9)
3.7
(38.7)
7.5
(45.5)
7.9
(46.2)
0.1
(32.2)
−6.5
(20.3)
−14.4
(6.1)
−28.2
(−18.8)
−28.2
(−18.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 21
(0.8)
21
(0.8)
60
(2.4)
56
(2.2)
47
(1.9)
24
(0.9)
17
(0.7)
10
(0.4)
10
(0.4)
51
(2.0)
25
(1.0)
21
(0.8)
363
(14.3)
Average extreme snow depth cm (inches) 5
(2.0)
3
(1.2)
1
(0.4)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
1
(0.4)
5
(2.0)
Average rainy days 2 4 8 12 12 8 5 4 4 8 7 4 78
Average snowy days 7 7 2 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 1 5 22
Average relative humidity (%) 81 74 62 59 58 51 47 47 51 64 73 79 62
Mean monthly sunshine hours 92.6 125.4 177.3 206.7 263.0 321.6 352.4 332.5 293.0 221.2 148.0 87.3 2,620.8
Source 1: Pogoda.ru.net[2]
Source 2: World Meteorological Organization (sun 1981–2010)[3]
Climate data for Ananun Pass(elevation:2122.122m 39°49′50″N 44°59′31″E / 39.83056°N 44.99194°E / 39.83056; 44.99194), 1991–2020
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 9.5
(49.1)
9.6
(49.3)
16.3
(61.3)
23.5
(74.3)
25.0
(77.0)
30.2
(86.4)
34.5
(94.1)
33.0
(91.4)
30.0
(86.0)
23.6
(74.5)
16.0
(60.8)
13.4
(56.1)
34.5
(94.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) −6.1
(21.0)
−5.1
(22.8)
−0.8
(30.6)
4.8
(40.6)
9.7
(49.5)
14.8
(58.6)
18.6
(65.5)
19.1
(66.4)
14.8
(58.6)
8.6
(47.5)
1.3
(34.3)
−3.6
(25.5)
6.3
(43.4)
Record low °C (°F) −23
(−9)
−20
(−4)
−16
(3)
−17
(1)
−5
(23)
−0.5
(31.1)
1.5
(34.7)
6
(43)
−2
(28)
−5.5
(22.1)
−15.5
(4.1)
−19
(−2)
−23
(−9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 44.9
(1.77)
44.6
(1.76)
53.6
(2.11)
80.1
(3.15)
74.1
(2.92)
35.0
(1.38)
22.2
(0.87)
14.6
(0.57)
18.6
(0.73)
38.9
(1.53)
36.9
(1.45)
40.8
(1.61)
504.3
(19.85)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 6.8 7.3 8.7 10.9 11.8 6.1 3.3 2.2 3.2 6 6 6.8 79.1
Average relative humidity (%) 75.7 74.6 71.8 69.7 69.2 63.1 61.3 58.1 58.6 65.6 72 74.6 67.9
Source: NOAA[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.unccd.int. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Weather and Climate- The Climate of Yerevan" (in Russian). Weather and Climate (Погода и климат). Archived from the original on 19 December 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  3. ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1981–2010". World Meteorological Organization. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  4. ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020: Anannun Pass" (CSV). ncei.noaa.gov (Excel). Retrieved 5 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
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