The Turkmen land that is rich in the unique natural landscapes is beautiful and wonderful in each season of the year.
The climate as one of the major geographic characteristic of any region is the most remarkable aspect of Turkmen nature. Even among other Central Asian countries, which are rightfully called the ‘sunny’, Turkmenistan is distinguished for a plenty of light and warmth.
Every square centimetre there receives the warmth in the course of year twice as much than that in Central European countries due to the latitudinal location of the country situated in the so-called zone of ‘short shades’ where the sun shines high above the horizon.
It is of particular importance for formation of climate the location of Turkmenistan in the East in the depth of the Eurasian continent, in the area remote from the softening influence of the ocean. Although Turkmenistan is located at latitude of the Mediterranean Europe, our country differs from the Old World in not only a hot and dry summer, but a frosty winter as well.
Winter
In the southern regions of the country it starts after the New Year holidays, but in the north, as expected, a month earlier. The main feature of this season is the changeability of the weather. Powerful air flows following by fall of temperature reach the Turkmen side from the south or the north.
Sometimes (but seldom), chilling cold wind from distant Siberia ‘flies’ to the northern regions of Turkmenistan. And then there the temperature falls over thirty degrees below zero and the bitter frosts reach the south of the country. In such cases, rare in these regions snow can lie on the ground more than usual that make happy not only children but also adults who enjoy playing at snowballs, the uncommon game in local climatic conditions.
However, the frosty weather in Turkmenistan lasts not for a long time and is quickly replaced by thaw that ‘eats’ the fragile snow cover. On the average, there is no frost in Turkmenistan for the year of 230-270 days and only 10-20 days are snowy. But there are exceptions, as in the abnormally cold for the local conditions winter of 2007-2008.
Quite often there are very short ‘mild winters’, during which the temperature keeps within five to six degrees above zero. They even do not interrupt the growth of many plants.
In Turkmenistan, the agricultural works run all year round and especially during the so-called vegetative winters. Hardworking agricultural workers wash irrigated fields from salt, clean irrigation canals, plough lands, water vineyards and gardens using the seasonal income of water.
The short portrait of the climate of Turkmenistan, described above, refers mainly to the natural landscapes in flat ground. But climate together with other components of the landscape is transformed in the areas where people irrigate the land, plant orchards, build canals. And the larger the area of the oasis, the cooler is weather in summer and abundant vegetation and increased humidity of the air create a special microclimate. Especially, in the spring...
Spring
As is known, the nature has no bad weather. But spring in Turkmenistan, of course, is the most fertile time of the year. It comes to these regions rapidly and violently. On the eve of the spring, in the second half of February, the temperature increases. Nights become shorter and warmer, and in March it is usually 20-25 degrees above zero in day time. There are frequent and heavy rains in the spring that promotes the rapid growth of plants.
Spring in Turkmenistan is a charming period when apricot orchards smell sweet in the white-pink haze, almond and peaches and following them other horticultural crops blossom throughout the country. Hardworking farmers start spring field works (it should be noted that in the southern parts of the country, the field works start in February).
Sometimes in spring, cold air comes from the north-east, where the snow lies. And these air masses displace warmer air, and it quickly rising becomes cooler - huge fanciful clouds as if from the surrealist paintings appear in the sky. During this period in Turkmenistan there are heavy rains and even heavy showers gifting the life-giving moisture to soil.
For many of us the desert seems to be lifeless space of hot sands, but if one manages to visit the Karakum Desert in spring, one can see a paradise on the earth. From edge to edge, as our eyes can see, there is the riot of plants awakened from hibernation. Unforgettable breathtaking aroma of flowers strewn the ground till the horizon will arouse the wish to return again and again to these regions.
Time, as is known, does not stand still, daily temperatures increase, and by the end of spring stable dry weather sets in Turkmenistan. It sounds paradoxical, but summer comes to the Turkmen land ... in spring.
In the south and in the central parts, summer comes at the end of April, and in the north - in May. When there the average daily air temperature exceeds 20 degrees above zero, many plants start bearing.
Summer
Though many people call the Turkmen summer ‘the one-weather season’ (the heat lasts five months there), these regions are still under the influence of the same atmospheric processes as those occurring in the changeable humid spring.
Sometimes it happens that the air masses from the cool north rush into the region of extreme heat. This results in the heavy rain that falls in the Karakum Desert where the minimum amount of precipitations usually occur in summer. The nature immediately responds to this gift of heaven by the awakening of flowers and plants from summer sleep.
The Turkmen people who live in these natural and climatic conditions for many centuries have accommodated themselves perfectly well to the hot climate. In our times, the elders wear the warm lambskin hats, even during the hottest days, and drink hot green tea that retains moisture in the human organism.
In Turkmenistan the nights are cool even in summer; sometimes they are perceived as cold due to the great difference between the temperatures during the days and nights. At such moments when every living thing is given rest from the day’s heat, you want to roam about the brightly illuminated streets in the nighttime pr chat over a cup of fragrant tea until dawn.
In the morning, at dawn, you can behold the delightful spectacle – the huge disc of the fiery red sun is slowly emerging with royal dignity of the night of nothingness on the horizon. The picture is, indeed, divine. And to some extent, it becomes clear why the remote ancestors of the Turkmen people deified the sun worshiping it as God several millennia before Islam.
Things are really zipping in the oases in summer despite the heat. Even in May, early June diligent farmers reap the first harvests of grain, vegetables and fruits. Boxes of cotton – ‘white gold’ of the Turkmen nation – open in the second half of August. However, this is a signal for the approach of another time of year.
Autumn
In Turkmenistan autumn comes into its own almost imperceptibly. At first, it seems to be no different from the summer. Gradually, without surges in temperature the nights become slightly cooler, and the heat of the day begins to slowly recede. In many countries the air temperatures of something below 20 degrees in the daytime is regarded as the hot summer weather, but in Turkmenistan is a sure sign that autumn has come.
This temperature sets in the south of the country in early October and in northern areas almost a month earlier. Then the daily temperature goes down, and the scattered clouds appear on the beautiful dome of the azure sky and the weather will no longer be settled.
The light rain falls in the second half of October. They waken the life in the great Karakum Desert, the dormancy of ground squirrels and turtles comes to an end, swift antelopes – gazelles and saigas race with the wind.
Leverets scurry throughout trying to hide from the wolves, desert lynxes and other predators in the bushes of desert herbs that is revivified by the moisture from heaven in the Karakum Desert and their rich blossom resembles the paradise. Sometimes red deer that inhabit mostly in riparian forests wander to the parts of the desert adjacent to the Amu Darya River escaping blood-sucking insects.
The temperature continues dropping, and a light frost more often come at clear night. In late October or early November they reach the southern areas of Turkmenistan. In the oases, deserts and mountains the plants stop vegetating, and the trees shed their yellowed leaves. In these days autumn in Turkmenistan is truly gold…
‘Fifth’ time of year, or evergreen oasis
In recent years, Turkmenistan is rapidly turning into a country that amazes its guests with young forests, vast green areas scattered here and there and locking towns and villages in their fresh embrace. These man-made oases have spread on many thousands of hectares in different regions of the country, especially at the picturesque foothills in the vicinities of the Turkmen capital. There are pine forests growing on the hills and slopes which once had been bare, and trees in these forests number tens of millions already.
A dozen years ago there was nothing like that, planting, and the ambitious project to plant trees and shrubs in the huge arid areas seemed to be an ambitious idea at least initially. But it has been fulfilled. Manmade forests not only grow but also expand as a result of the annual planting campaigns.
Today evergreen zones are not only an adornment of landscape but also an ecological compatibility standard. Forests are the biological filter trapping atmospheric pollutants, generating oxygen, providing a significant impact on the meteorological factors and creating a favourable habitat and mild microclimate.
Millions of decorative conifers have been planted in the capital city during the years of great reforms, these plantations form the multilayer ‘green belt’ stretching tens of thousands of hectares within the city. There is hardly a capital in the world that can boast the huge areas of manmade woodlands in and around the city.
The completion of any large-scale project whether it concerns rural development, construction and putting new facilities into operation in settlements is marked by the laying of a new park or planting huge forest tracts. An illustration of this was the first trees planted by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in the new park in the maritime settlement of Esenguly, new etraps Ruhubelent, Dovletli, Altyn Sahra, or to mark the completion of the first phase of the Turkmen Lake project and the opening of infrastructure facilities in the Avaza tourism zone, among many others.
By the way, the outskirts of the national tourism zone where thousands of trees have moved is to turn into a gorgeous forest tract in the near future as ambitious as manmade forests at the foothills of the Kopetdag Mountains.
The most common ‘dweller’ of green zones is Eldar pine. It is adapted to the local arid climate best of all. Other conifer species such as thuja, juniper, cypress and evergreen bushes are also planted.
The work aimed at making Turkmenistan an evergreen oasis continues. “The green development strategy’ is regarded by the Government of Turkmenistan as one of the mechanism for promoting the economic development of the country in line with the global trend which can be defined as ‘reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and development of environmentally friendly technologies’.
The country with one of the great deserts of the world and the hot sun is reaping the benefits of long-term work based on best practices, advanced technologies and centuries-old traditions. The most peaceful – the environmental ‘green revolution’ aimed ultimately at improving the quality of life, bettering the environment and boosting the prosperity of the country is stepping up there.
The climate as one of the major geographic characteristic of any region is the most remarkable aspect of Turkmen nature. Even among other Central Asian countries, which are rightfully called the ‘sunny’, Turkmenistan is distinguished for a plenty of light and warmth.
Every square centimetre there receives the warmth in the course of year twice as much than that in Central European countries due to the latitudinal location of the country situated in the so-called zone of ‘short shades’ where the sun shines high above the horizon.
It is of particular importance for formation of climate the location of Turkmenistan in the East in the depth of the Eurasian continent, in the area remote from the softening influence of the ocean. Although Turkmenistan is located at latitude of the Mediterranean Europe, our country differs from the Old World in not only a hot and dry summer, but a frosty winter as well.
Winter
In the southern regions of the country it starts after the New Year holidays, but in the north, as expected, a month earlier. The main feature of this season is the changeability of the weather. Powerful air flows following by fall of temperature reach the Turkmen side from the south or the north.
Sometimes (but seldom), chilling cold wind from distant Siberia ‘flies’ to the northern regions of Turkmenistan. And then there the temperature falls over thirty degrees below zero and the bitter frosts reach the south of the country. In such cases, rare in these regions snow can lie on the ground more than usual that make happy not only children but also adults who enjoy playing at snowballs, the uncommon game in local climatic conditions.
However, the frosty weather in Turkmenistan lasts not for a long time and is quickly replaced by thaw that ‘eats’ the fragile snow cover. On the average, there is no frost in Turkmenistan for the year of 230-270 days and only 10-20 days are snowy. But there are exceptions, as in the abnormally cold for the local conditions winter of 2007-2008.
Quite often there are very short ‘mild winters’, during which the temperature keeps within five to six degrees above zero. They even do not interrupt the growth of many plants.
In Turkmenistan, the agricultural works run all year round and especially during the so-called vegetative winters. Hardworking agricultural workers wash irrigated fields from salt, clean irrigation canals, plough lands, water vineyards and gardens using the seasonal income of water.
The short portrait of the climate of Turkmenistan, described above, refers mainly to the natural landscapes in flat ground. But climate together with other components of the landscape is transformed in the areas where people irrigate the land, plant orchards, build canals. And the larger the area of the oasis, the cooler is weather in summer and abundant vegetation and increased humidity of the air create a special microclimate. Especially, in the spring...
Spring
As is known, the nature has no bad weather. But spring in Turkmenistan, of course, is the most fertile time of the year. It comes to these regions rapidly and violently. On the eve of the spring, in the second half of February, the temperature increases. Nights become shorter and warmer, and in March it is usually 20-25 degrees above zero in day time. There are frequent and heavy rains in the spring that promotes the rapid growth of plants.
Spring in Turkmenistan is a charming period when apricot orchards smell sweet in the white-pink haze, almond and peaches and following them other horticultural crops blossom throughout the country. Hardworking farmers start spring field works (it should be noted that in the southern parts of the country, the field works start in February).
Sometimes in spring, cold air comes from the north-east, where the snow lies. And these air masses displace warmer air, and it quickly rising becomes cooler - huge fanciful clouds as if from the surrealist paintings appear in the sky. During this period in Turkmenistan there are heavy rains and even heavy showers gifting the life-giving moisture to soil.
For many of us the desert seems to be lifeless space of hot sands, but if one manages to visit the Karakum Desert in spring, one can see a paradise on the earth. From edge to edge, as our eyes can see, there is the riot of plants awakened from hibernation. Unforgettable breathtaking aroma of flowers strewn the ground till the horizon will arouse the wish to return again and again to these regions.
Time, as is known, does not stand still, daily temperatures increase, and by the end of spring stable dry weather sets in Turkmenistan. It sounds paradoxical, but summer comes to the Turkmen land ... in spring.
In the south and in the central parts, summer comes at the end of April, and in the north - in May. When there the average daily air temperature exceeds 20 degrees above zero, many plants start bearing.
Summer
Though many people call the Turkmen summer ‘the one-weather season’ (the heat lasts five months there), these regions are still under the influence of the same atmospheric processes as those occurring in the changeable humid spring.
Sometimes it happens that the air masses from the cool north rush into the region of extreme heat. This results in the heavy rain that falls in the Karakum Desert where the minimum amount of precipitations usually occur in summer. The nature immediately responds to this gift of heaven by the awakening of flowers and plants from summer sleep.
The Turkmen people who live in these natural and climatic conditions for many centuries have accommodated themselves perfectly well to the hot climate. In our times, the elders wear the warm lambskin hats, even during the hottest days, and drink hot green tea that retains moisture in the human organism.
In Turkmenistan the nights are cool even in summer; sometimes they are perceived as cold due to the great difference between the temperatures during the days and nights. At such moments when every living thing is given rest from the day’s heat, you want to roam about the brightly illuminated streets in the nighttime pr chat over a cup of fragrant tea until dawn.
In the morning, at dawn, you can behold the delightful spectacle – the huge disc of the fiery red sun is slowly emerging with royal dignity of the night of nothingness on the horizon. The picture is, indeed, divine. And to some extent, it becomes clear why the remote ancestors of the Turkmen people deified the sun worshiping it as God several millennia before Islam.
Things are really zipping in the oases in summer despite the heat. Even in May, early June diligent farmers reap the first harvests of grain, vegetables and fruits. Boxes of cotton – ‘white gold’ of the Turkmen nation – open in the second half of August. However, this is a signal for the approach of another time of year.
Autumn
In Turkmenistan autumn comes into its own almost imperceptibly. At first, it seems to be no different from the summer. Gradually, without surges in temperature the nights become slightly cooler, and the heat of the day begins to slowly recede. In many countries the air temperatures of something below 20 degrees in the daytime is regarded as the hot summer weather, but in Turkmenistan is a sure sign that autumn has come.
This temperature sets in the south of the country in early October and in northern areas almost a month earlier. Then the daily temperature goes down, and the scattered clouds appear on the beautiful dome of the azure sky and the weather will no longer be settled.
The light rain falls in the second half of October. They waken the life in the great Karakum Desert, the dormancy of ground squirrels and turtles comes to an end, swift antelopes – gazelles and saigas race with the wind.
Leverets scurry throughout trying to hide from the wolves, desert lynxes and other predators in the bushes of desert herbs that is revivified by the moisture from heaven in the Karakum Desert and their rich blossom resembles the paradise. Sometimes red deer that inhabit mostly in riparian forests wander to the parts of the desert adjacent to the Amu Darya River escaping blood-sucking insects.
The temperature continues dropping, and a light frost more often come at clear night. In late October or early November they reach the southern areas of Turkmenistan. In the oases, deserts and mountains the plants stop vegetating, and the trees shed their yellowed leaves. In these days autumn in Turkmenistan is truly gold…
‘Fifth’ time of year, or evergreen oasis
In recent years, Turkmenistan is rapidly turning into a country that amazes its guests with young forests, vast green areas scattered here and there and locking towns and villages in their fresh embrace. These man-made oases have spread on many thousands of hectares in different regions of the country, especially at the picturesque foothills in the vicinities of the Turkmen capital. There are pine forests growing on the hills and slopes which once had been bare, and trees in these forests number tens of millions already.
A dozen years ago there was nothing like that, planting, and the ambitious project to plant trees and shrubs in the huge arid areas seemed to be an ambitious idea at least initially. But it has been fulfilled. Manmade forests not only grow but also expand as a result of the annual planting campaigns.
Today evergreen zones are not only an adornment of landscape but also an ecological compatibility standard. Forests are the biological filter trapping atmospheric pollutants, generating oxygen, providing a significant impact on the meteorological factors and creating a favourable habitat and mild microclimate.
Millions of decorative conifers have been planted in the capital city during the years of great reforms, these plantations form the multilayer ‘green belt’ stretching tens of thousands of hectares within the city. There is hardly a capital in the world that can boast the huge areas of manmade woodlands in and around the city.
The completion of any large-scale project whether it concerns rural development, construction and putting new facilities into operation in settlements is marked by the laying of a new park or planting huge forest tracts. An illustration of this was the first trees planted by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in the new park in the maritime settlement of Esenguly, new etraps Ruhubelent, Dovletli, Altyn Sahra, or to mark the completion of the first phase of the Turkmen Lake project and the opening of infrastructure facilities in the Avaza tourism zone, among many others.
By the way, the outskirts of the national tourism zone where thousands of trees have moved is to turn into a gorgeous forest tract in the near future as ambitious as manmade forests at the foothills of the Kopetdag Mountains.
The most common ‘dweller’ of green zones is Eldar pine. It is adapted to the local arid climate best of all. Other conifer species such as thuja, juniper, cypress and evergreen bushes are also planted.
The work aimed at making Turkmenistan an evergreen oasis continues. “The green development strategy’ is regarded by the Government of Turkmenistan as one of the mechanism for promoting the economic development of the country in line with the global trend which can be defined as ‘reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and development of environmentally friendly technologies’.
The country with one of the great deserts of the world and the hot sun is reaping the benefits of long-term work based on best practices, advanced technologies and centuries-old traditions. The most peaceful – the environmental ‘green revolution’ aimed ultimately at improving the quality of life, bettering the environment and boosting the prosperity of the country is stepping up there.
