🇸🇾Syria

Syria (185,180 km²) spans 32°–37°N and 35.5°–42°E between the Mediterranean Sea (183 km coastline) and the arid interior, encompassing four distinct climate zones: the narrow Mediterranean coastal plain receiving 700–1,000 mm annual rainfall with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers; the western mountain chains (Jebel Ansariya reaching 1,562 m and Anti-Lebanon Mountains reaching 2,814 m at Mount Hermon) intercepting moisture and creating orographic precipitation; the interior steppe transition zone with 200–350 mm rainfall supporting rainfed agriculture; and the vast Syrian Desert (Badiyat al-Sham) covering 55% of the country with under 100 mm annual precipitation.

The Euphrates and Khabur rivers, originating in Turkey, traverse the northeast providing irrigation for 640,000 hectares despite declining flows (down 40% since the 1970s due to upstream dams and reduced precipitation). Mean annual temperatures range from 14°C in northern highlands to 21°C in the southern desert, with summer maxima routinely exceeding 45°C inland and coastal areas moderated by Mediterranean influence. The climate is predominantly Köppen BSh (hot semi-arid steppe) in the interior and Csa (hot-summer Mediterranean) along the coast, with the eastern two-thirds classified as BWh (hot desert).

Damascus (elevation 610 m, interior steppe-desert transition) averages 7°C in January and 27°C in July with 130 mm annual precipitation concentrated November–March, experiencing summer maxima exceeding 43°C and occasional winter frost. Aleppo (northern steppe, 379 m) registers 6°C in January and 29°C in July with 336 mm, historically supporting extensive rainfed wheat cultivation before the severe 2006–2010 drought.

Latakia (Mediterranean coast) records 12°C in January and 27°C in July with 760 mm, benefiting from maritime moderation and orographic enhancement. Deir ez-Zor (Euphrates valley, eastern desert, 213 m) experiences 7°C in January and 33°C in July with merely 146 mm, entirely dependent on river irrigation. Palmyra (central desert, 400 m) drops to 6°C in January and soars to 31°C in July with 125 mm.

Syria experienced a major drought from 2006–2010, the most severe in 900 years according to tree-ring reconstructions and made 2–3 times more likely by climate change. This drought caused widespread crop failures across 60% of the country and killed 85% of livestock in affected areas, displacing approximately 1.5 million rural residents to urban peripheries and contributing to the 2011 civil war outbreak.

The September 2015 Eastern Mediterranean dust storm blanketed Syria and neighboring countries, causing respiratory emergencies and near-zero visibility. The Euphrates River discharge at the Syrian-Turkish border declined from 30 billion m³ annually (1970s average) to 18 billion m³ (2000s), threatening irrigation and drinking water for 5 million people. The August 2023 heatwave pushed temperatures above 46°C in Damascus and 48°C in Deir ez-Zor, straining power infrastructure. The Eastern Mediterranean Sea is warming at 0.4°C per decade, intensifying marine heatwaves and expanding hypoxic zones.

Our archive covers 13 Syrian cities with daily ERA5 reanalysis data going back to 1940. The warmest July averages occur in Al Ḩasakah, around 40.9°C, while Al Qāmishlī records the coldest January nights near 1.4°C. Comparing the last decade against the 1940–1970 baseline, mean temperatures across these cities have risen by about 2°C.