Qurghonteppa

For the administrative subdivision of Tajikistan, see Qurghonteppa Oblast.
Qurghonteppa
Қурғонтеппа

Qurghonteppa in 2010
Qurghonteppa

Location in Tajikistan

Coordinates: 37°50′11″N 68°46′49″E / 37.83639°N 68.78028°ECoordinates: 37°50′11″N 68°46′49″E / 37.83639°N 68.78028°E
Country  Tajikistan
Province Khatlon
Area
  City 26 km2 (10 sq mi)
Population (2014)
  City 101 600
  Density 3,907,6/km2 (101,210/sq mi)
  Metro 175 000
Area code(s) 992-3222

Qurghonteppa or Kurganteppa (Tajik: Қурғонтеппа), formerly known as Kurgan-Tyube (Russian: Курган-Тюбе, Persian: قرغان‌تپه, Uzbek: Qo’rg’ontepa), is a city in southwestern Tajikistan. It is the capital of the Khatlon region and it is located 100 km from Dushanbe. It is estimated that the population of the city is close to 102,000 (est. 2014) people, making it the third-largest city in the country. The population fluctuates depending on season (due to Tajik immigrant workers in Russia). The political opposition in Tajikistan primarily comes from Qurghonteppa.[1]

Overview

Along with the capital Dushanbe, Qurghonteppa is demographically much more diverse than other major cities such as Khujand, Kulob or Istaravshan. Ethnicities include Tajiks, Uzbeks, Russians, Tatars, Ukrainians, Kazakhs, Greeks and many more. The city had a large number of ethnic Russians who were actively employed by the industrial and agricultural complexes in and around the city. Qurghonteppa was seriously demaged during the civil war in 1992-1997; during and after that war 85% of the Russians left the city.

Qurghonteppa International Airport serves a handful of cities in Tajikistan, Russia and Kazakhstan. The city is considered to be the heart of cotton ("white gold") cultivation in Tajikistan.

Qurghonteppa and Kulob are the main cities of south Tajikistan. Qurghonteppa is a regional hub (one of the top four), especially for banking and telecommunications industries.

Tajik immigrant workers (mostly employed in Russia) have significantly contributed to the local economy since early 2000s.

Climate

Qurghonteppa has a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk), with cool winters and very hot summers. Precipitation is quite low, and peaks in spring, while summers are very dry.

Climate data for Qurghonteppa
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 22.1
(71.8)
27.9
(82.2)
33.4
(92.1)
36.7
(98.1)
41.3
(106.3)
43.6
(110.5)
46.0
(114.8)
42.8
(109)
38.6
(101.5)
36.1
(97)
30.5
(86.9)
24.3
(75.7)
46
(114.8)
Average high °C (°F) 8.1
(46.6)
11.7
(53.1)
17.2
(63)
24.2
(75.6)
30.4
(86.7)
35.8
(96.4)
37.3
(99.1)
35.5
(95.9)
31.2
(88.2)
25.1
(77.2)
17.6
(63.7)
10.6
(51.1)
23.73
(74.72)
Daily mean °C (°F) 2.5
(36.5)
5.4
(41.7)
10.8
(51.4)
17.2
(63)
22.7
(72.9)
27.3
(81.1)
28.7
(83.7)
26.4
(79.5)
21.1
(70)
15.2
(59.4)
9.1
(48.4)
4.4
(39.9)
15.9
(60.62)
Average low °C (°F) −1.5
(29.3)
1.0
(33.8)
5.9
(42.6)
11.2
(52.2)
15.3
(59.5)
18.1
(64.6)
19.3
(66.7)
17.1
(62.8)
12.1
(53.8)
7.6
(45.7)
3.2
(37.8)
0.3
(32.5)
9.13
(48.44)
Record low °C (°F) −24.1
(−11.4)
−22.6
(−8.7)
−12.7
(9.1)
−1.8
(28.8)
4.0
(39.2)
9.1
(48.4)
11.0
(51.8)
9.4
(48.9)
3.5
(38.3)
−4.2
(24.4)
−10.9
(12.4)
−20.0
(−4)
−24.1
(−11.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 36.1
(1.421)
39.6
(1.559)
61.0
(2.402)
39.6
(1.559)
24.1
(0.949)
3.2
(0.126)
0.3
(0.012)
0.1
(0.004)
0.8
(0.031)
8.8
(0.346)
19.3
(0.76)
29.8
(1.173)
262.7
(10.342)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 8.2 11.2 7.0 5.9 2.7 0.2 1.0 0.8 1.3 3.7 6.4 7.3 55.7
Average relative humidity (%) 73.2 70.1 62.3 57.6 50.2 45.5 45.6 48.3 51.0 57.1 66.6 73.0 58.38
Mean monthly sunshine hours 112 125 164 213 291 339 351 334 294 235 174 115 2,747
Source #1: climatebase.ru[2]
Source #2: NOAA (sun only, 1961-1990)[3]

Notable people

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Qurghonteppa.