Tag Archive for Facts and figures
- Istanbul, located in northwestern Turkey, has a population of over 12 million. Home to 17.6% of the country’s population, it is the largest city in Turkey and one of the 25 largest in the world.
- Although data do not indicate a clear declining trend in rainfall in Istanbul and its surroundings, extreme events – especially droughts – seem more pronounced than in the past. In 2006, the measured rainfall of 66.7 mm was the record low for the previous 50 years, a period during which the average was 257.2 mm per year. Furthermore, the water level in reservoirs serving the city was just 45% in 2004, and plummeted to around 25% in 2007 and 2008. Read more
- Swaziland, one of the smallest countries in Africa, is almost enclosed within South Africa, sharing just the northern half of its eastern border with Mozambique. Its population of 1.13 million (2006) is distributed over an area of 17,370 km2.
- Between 75% and 83% of the annual rainfall comes from October to March. Precipitation ranges from 500 mm in the south-east to 1,500 mm in the west, the average being 1,200 mm. Read more
- The predominant climate types are Mediterranean in the north and Saharan in the south. Four climatic sub-regions can be identified: sub-humid in the far north, semi-arid in the northwest and at Cap Bon, arid in the centre and hyper-arid and desert in most of the south. Over 40% of the country lies in the hyper-arid zone. Although average annual rainfall amounts to 220 mm, geographic variation is substantial, with regional averages ranging from 1,500 mm in the north to 50 mm in the far south, in the heart of the Sahara.
- The arid plains that mark the northern limit of the Sahara include many depressions, locally called chotts and sebkhats, which fill with water in winter and dry up in summer. Their water is highly saline. The largest chott, Jerid, is a 500 km2 salt lake. Read more
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