Climate of Tunisia
The climate of Tunisia is Mediterranean in the north, with mild rainy winters and hot, dry summers.[1] The south of the country is desert. The terrain in the north is mountainous, which, moving south, gives way to a hot, dry central plain. The south is semiarid, and merges into the Sahara. A series of salt lakes, known as chotts or shatts, lie in an east–west line at the northern edge of the Sahara, extending from the Gulf of Gabes into Algeria. The lowest point is Chott el Djerid at 17 metres (56 ft) below sea level and the highest is Jebel ech Chambi at 1,544 metres (5,066 ft).[2]
Details
Tunisia's climate is divided into seven bioclimatic zones, with the main difference between the north and the rest of the country being due to the Tunisian hills which separate the regions subject to a Mediterranean climate and a typical hot desert climate of the Sahara - the largest hot desert in the world. Between them, there is a semi-arid climate with common characteristics between the two main climatic systems in the country.[3][4]
Tunisia's climate is affected by various types of wind due to its geographical location: the northern coast is exposed to moderate and humid sea winds blowing from southern France, resulting in a significant decrease in temperatures and an increase in rainfall. In the south of the country, there are hot and dry continental winds, such as the Chergui wind, which blows over large desert areas causing a sudden rise in temperatures and a clear dry atmosphere. The country also benefits from a high amount of sunshine, exceeding 3000 hours per year, which reaches its peak in the southern desert, on the Algerian and Libyan borders.[5]
Temperatures vary according to latitude, longitude, and proximity to the Mediterranean Sea. While temperatures can drop below 0 degrees Celsius in the winter in the Khemer Mountains (Kroumirie), the maximum temperature often rises to around 50 degrees Celsius in the desert regions in the summer. Average annual rainfall also varies by region, from about 1000 mm in the north to about 380 mm in the center and down to less than 50 mm in the far south.
Climate change
Tunisia has experienced a significant increase in temperatures over the 20th and early 21st centuries, with the average temperature rising by approximately 1.2 °C from 1901 to 2020.[6] This trend of rising temperatures is expected to continue, leading to numerous impacts on the country's ecosystems, agriculture, and human health.
Data
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References
- "Climate of Tunisia". BBC. Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- Aldosari, Ali (2006). Middle East, western Asia, and northern Africa. Marshall Cavendish. pp. 1270–. ISBN 978-0-7614-7571-2.
- Baourakis, George; Kalaitzis, Prodromos; Mattas, Konstadinos (2014-01-02). Food Chains: Quality, Safety and Efficiency in a Challenging World. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-99513-5.
- Kuenzer, Claudia; Dech, Stefan (2013-06-17). Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing: Sensors, Methods, Applications. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-94-007-6639-6.
- Hassanien, Aboul Ella; Darwish, Ashraf (2023-03-11). The Power of Data: Driving Climate Change with Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Innovations. Springer Nature. ISBN 978-3-031-22456-0.
- "Regional Climate Change: Tunisia". Berkeley Earth. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
- "Weatherbase : Tunisia". Archived from the original on 2016-06-10. Retrieved 13 May 2016.