Causes of hot and dry climate in West Asia

The main reasons for the hot and dry climate in West Asia and North Africa are:

1. Lower latitude, higher height of the sun at noon all year round, strong solar radiation, and hot weather;

2. Controlled by the subtropical high pressure zone, the air flow sinks, precipitation is very little, and the climate is dry. In sunny weather, the atmosphere weakens solar radiation weakly, and the solar radiation reaching the ground is strong, aggravating the high temperature;

3. Located in the west of the continent, the northeast trade wind blows from the continent, with little water vapor and dry air , there is very little precipitation;

4. The cold current in the western sea of ??North Africa has the effect of exacerbating dryness;

5. The terrain is mainly plateau, which is relatively flat and difficult to block water vapor.

Extended information:

Most areas in West Asia have scarce precipitation, arid climate, water shortages, and widespread grasslands and deserts. In the arid environment, people here developed livestock and irrigated agriculture. The Tropic of Cancer passes through the middle of this region, and most of the area is under the control of subtropical high pressure and dry northeasterly trade winds.

At the same time, the southwest of this area faces arid North Africa, and the edge of the plateau is surrounded by tall mountains, so the climate is dry, mostly tropical and subtropical desert climates. There is little precipitation and intense evaporation. The annual precipitation is mostly below 250 mm, and areas with more precipitation generally do not exceed 500 mm. Only the mountainous areas and the Mediterranean coastal areas have abundant precipitation.

The east coast of the Mediterranean has a Mediterranean climate with rain in winter and dryness in summer. The Arabian Peninsula and other places have scarce precipitation and are world-famous dry climate areas. Restricted by precipitation and topography, the region's inland watersheds and flowless areas are vast, with poor surface runoff and sparse river networks.

Except for the Euphrates River and the Tigris River, most of them are short rivers. Most of them originate from the mountains on the edge of the plateau and are supplied by glacier snowmelt water. The river water volume is small and the seasonal changes are significant.