| Saqqez سقز |
|
|---|---|
| — city — | |
|
Saqqez
|
|
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Iran |
| Province | Kurdistan |
| County | Saqqez |
| Bakhsh | Central |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Total | 131,349 |
| Time zone | IRST (UTC+3:30) |
| • Summer (DST) | IRDT (UTC+4:30) |
Saqqez (Persian: سقز, also Romanized as Saghez, Saqqiz, and Sakīz)[1] is a city in and capital of Saqqez County, Kurdistan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 131,348, in 31,336 families.[2]
Kurds' ancient Iranian ancestors have lived in Seqiz and surrounding areas since approximately 1000 B.C.. By the mid-seventh century B.C. the Scythians under Bartatua reached the summit of their might in western Asia, and the region of Saqqez was their political center.[3] In pre-Islamic era, Seqiz and surrounding areas comprised a small country known as Sagapeni, which is believed to be related to the name of the ancient Iranian Sakas (Scythians) from which the name of the city is derived.
At an altitude of 1,493 metres (4,898 feet), Saqqez has got the lowest temperature recorded in Iran for a metropolitan area. It has a seasonally varying climate with cold, snowy winters and hot, dry summers. During summers, there is a large daily temperature range due to the combination of thin, dry air, produced by the high elevation, and low summertime humidity. During the cold spell of 1969 in Iran, Saqqez recorded a temperature of −36 °C (−33 °F). The temperature remained the lowest ever recorded in Iran by a weather station till Kheirabad Zanjan hit −36.4 °C (−33.5 °F) on January 29 of 1997.[4][5] Saqqez hit again the temperature of −36 during the 1972 Iran blizzard which lasted from February 3 to February 9, 1972. Based on unofficial but reliable temperature records, Saqqez hit −45.8 °C (−50.4 °F) in December 2006, and −42.3 °C (−44.1 °F) in January 2007 which are the lowest temperatures recorded in meteorological recording history of Iran for a city.[6][7]
| Climate data for Saqqez, Iran | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 18.2 (64.8) |
20 (68) |
24 (75) |
29 (84) |
34.4 (93.9) |
39 (102) |
43 (109) |
42 (108) |
39 (102) |
32 (90) |
26 (79) |
22.2 (72.0) |
43 (109.4) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 2.4 (36.3) |
4.7 (40.5) |
11.0 (51.8) |
17.3 (63.1) |
23.1 (73.6) |
29.8 (85.6) |
34.3 (93.7) |
34.2 (93.6) |
29.8 (85.6) |
22.2 (72.0) |
13.4 (56.1) |
6.1 (43.0) |
19.03 (66.25) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −8.1 (17.4) |
−6.7 (19.9) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
3.6 (38.5) |
6.6 (43.9) |
9.5 (49.1) |
14.0 (57.2) |
13.4 (56.1) |
8.3 (46.9) |
4.4 (39.9) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
−4.6 (23.7) |
3.24 (37.83) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −33 (−27) |
−36 (−33) |
−27.6 (−17.7) |
−9 (16) |
−5 (23) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
3.8 (38.8) |
4.8 (40.6) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
−7 (19) |
−24 (−11) |
−32 (−26) |
−36 (−33) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 66.6 (2.622) |
58.7 (2.311) |
79.5 (3.13) |
83.6 (3.291) |
52.0 (2.047) |
5.8 (0.228) |
2.9 (0.114) |
2.5 (0.098) |
1.4 (0.055) |
27.8 (1.094) |
56.9 (2.24) |
61.7 (2.429) |
499.4 (19.661) |
| % humidity | 73 | 70 | 64 | 58 | 52 | 40 | 35 | 33 | 33 | 47 | 63 | 71 | 53.3 |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 8.5 | 8.3 | 10.0 | 9.8 | 7.0 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 4.3 | 6.2 | 8.1 | 65.2 |
| Sunshine hours | 121.5 | 142.2 | 177.4 | 213.1 | 287.1 | 345.1 | 357.4 | 344.3 | 311.1 | 254.3 | 174.1 | 123.4 | 2,851 |
| Source: Synoptic Stations Statistics | |||||||||||||
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