Dir (Pashto: دير) is a town in Upper Dir District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. It is sometimes known as Dir Proper or Khas Dir to distinguish it from the district. It lies at the foot of the Lowarai Pass, the main motor road to Chitral, on the Dir River, a tributary of the Panjkora River.[1]
Dir was founded in the 17th century. It was the capital of the former princely state of Dir, until its abolition in 1969. The former royal palace is on a hill above the town.[1] Dir was then the capital of Dir District, but was replaced as capital by Timergara, before the district was divided in 1996.
Like most of the southern slopes of Pakistan, Dir has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). Owing to the town’s exposed location, rainfall from frontal cyclones from the west is heavier than in any other part of Pakistan, and their passage, as well as very penetrative monsoonal periods, are usually accompanies by heavy thunderstorms.
| Climate data for Dir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 11.3 (52.3) |
12.0 (53.6) |
16.1 (61.0) |
22.5 (72.5) |
27.9 (82.2) |
32.4 (90.3) |
31.2 (88.2) |
30.1 (86.2) |
28.9 (84.0) |
25.3 (77.5) |
20.1 (68.2) |
13.9 (57.0) |
22.6 (72.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 4.4 (39.9) |
5.3 (41.5) |
9.5 (49.1) |
15.0 (59.0) |
19.8 (67.6) |
23.9 (75.0) |
25.1 (77.2) |
24.2 (75.6) |
21.2 (70.2) |
16.3 (61.3) |
11.2 (52.2) |
6.4 (43.5) |
15.1 (59.2) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −2.5 (27.5) |
−1.5 (29.3) |
3.0 (37.4) |
7.6 (45.7) |
11.6 (52.9) |
15.5 (59.9) |
19.1 (66.4) |
18.3 (64.9) |
13.5 (56.3) |
7.3 (45.1) |
2.4 (36.3) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
7.8 (46.0) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 120.6 (4.748) |
176.7 (6.957) |
253.7 (9.988) |
166.3 (6.547) |
86.1 (3.39) |
54.4 (2.142) |
160.0 (6.299) |
168.6 (6.638) |
83.7 (3.295) |
50.3 (1.98) |
58.1 (2.287) |
90.3 (3.555) |
1,468.8 (57.827) |
| Sunshine hours | 127.1 | 121.4 | 136.4 | 195.0 | 251.1 | 282.0 | 248.0 | 220.1 | 219.0 | 220.1 | 204.0 | 130.2 | 2,354.4 |
| Source no. 1: [2] | |||||||||||||
| Source no. 2: (sunshine only)[3] | |||||||||||||