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Climate of Azerbaijan


The climate of Azerbaijan is very diverse. 9 out of 11 existing climate zones are present in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan is situated on the northern extremity of the subtropical zone, in the southeastern part of the Caucasus and the northwestern part of the Iranian plateau. The complicated geographical location and landscape, the proximity of the Caspian Sea, the effect of sun's radiation, air masses of different origin, etc., contribute to its climatological diversity.

As a predominantly mountainous country, Azerbaijan is surrounded by the Greater Caucasus, Lesser Caucasus, Talysh and North Iranian Mountains. The Kur-Araz Lowland, between the Greater and Lesser Caucasus, stretches to the Caspian Sea in the eastern part of the country. The Greater Caucasus, situated in the north of the country and stretching from the northwest to the southeast, protects the country from direct influences of northern cold air masses. That leads to the formation of a subtropical climate on most of the foothills and plains of the country. Other mountain chains surrounding the country also impact air circulation. The complexity of the landscape causes nonuniform formation of climatic zones and creates vertical climate zones.

The Azerbaijani plains and foothills have high insolation rates. The sun shines for 2,200 to 2,400 hours annually on the Kur-Araz lowland, Apsheron peninsula and other plains and foothills, and 2,600 to 2,800 hours on the plains around the Araz river in the Nakhchivan region. Due to increased cloudiness in the mountainous regions, those areas receive only 1,900 to 2,200 hours of direct sunlight.


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