The climate in Azerbaijan

Climate zone: The northern part of Azerbaijan is located in the temperate climate zone, while the southern part is subtropical.

The climate in Azerbaijan is quite varied, but generally does not offer extreme climate conditions. It is cold and wet with some nice summer months. The warmest and also rainiest greaster region is Karabakh. The coldest is Talysh. Due to the warmer temperatures, the best time for traveling is from June to September. Less attractive are the cold months from November to March.

Temperature records of the last 32 years

The hottest temperature measured from 1991 to January 2023 was reported by the Yevlakh Airport weather station. In July 2009, the record temperature of 42.5 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 7 weather stations in Azerbaijan below 1,340 meters altitude, was recorded in 2017 with an average temperature of 26.7 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 24.8 degrees Celsius. The average maximum daily temperature at that time was 33.3 °C.

The coldest day in these 32 years was reported by the Yevlakh Airport weather station. Here the temperature dropped to -12.3 °C in January 2009. Yevlakh Airport lies at an altitude of 15 meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 2012 with an average temperature of 2.7 °C. In Azerbaijan, it is usual to have about 2.2 degrees more at 5.0 °C for this three-month period.

The most precipitation fell in September 2016. With 14.0 mm per day, the Astara weather station recorded the highest monthly average of the last 32 years. Incidentally, the region with the most rainfall for the whole year is around Astara. The driest region is near Naxcivan.

Long-term development of temperatures from 2002 - 2022

In contrast to single record values, long-term development cannot simply be brought about by all weather stations in the country. Both the number and the locations are constantly changing. An average value would give a distorted result. If several measuring stations in particularly cold mountain or coastal regions are added in one year, the average would decrease as a result of this alone. If a station fails during the summer or winter months, it does not provide any values and distorts the average again. The subsequent long-term development was therefore reduced to only 1 measuring points in order to have comparable data over as long a period as possible.

In the years 2002 to 2022, there were only these 1 weather stations in the whole country, which reported continuous temperature values (Gandja). From these weather reports, we have created a long-term development that shows the monthly average temperatures. The hottest month in this entire period was June 2013 at 29.0 °C. January 2008 was the coldest month with an average temperature of -2.2 °C.

The average annual temperature was about 14.3 °C in the years after 2002 and about 15.4 °C in the last years before 2022. So in less than 21 years, it has increased by about 1.1 °C. This trend only applies to the selected 1 weather stations in Azerbaijan. A considerably more comprehensive evaluation of global warming has been provided separately.

Data basis and methodology

The data from the individual measuring stations are based on the archives of the German Weather Service, individual values averaged and supplemented by own elements. In order to determine a representative national average, average values were first calculated for each part of the country, which were then summarized at the national level. Thus, if a disproportionate number of weather stations are located in a small area, their number does not affect the national average. There are 7 stations in Azerbaijan itself. In 3 cases, neighboring but nearby weather stations were also used to obtain more accurate values.