Aïn Séfra
| Aïn Séfra عين الصفراء | |
|---|---|
| Municipality | |
| Aïn Sefra | |
 | |
 Location of Aïn Séfra within Naâma Province | |
  Aïn Séfra Location of Aïn Séfra within Algeria | |
| Coordinates: 32°45′N 0°35′W / 32.750°N 0.583°WCoordinates: 32°45′N 0°35′W / 32.750°N 0.583°W | |
| Country |
 Algeria |
| Province | Naâma |
| District | Aïn Séfra (seat) |
| Government | |
| • PMA Seats | 11 |
| Elevation | 1,081 m (3,547 ft) |
| Population (1998) | |
| • Total | 34,962 |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+01) |
| Postal code | 45200 |
| ONS code | 4503 |
Aïn Séfra (Arabic: عين الصفراء, lit. yellow spring) is a municipality in Naâma Province, Algeria. It is the district seat of Aïn Séfra District and it has a population of 34,962, which gives it 11 seats in the PMA. Its postal code is 45200 and its municipal code is 4503. It is the second most populated municipality in the province after Mécheria. It was founded in 1881 as a garrison town for the French.[1] It is sometimes referred to as "The Gateway to the Desert".[1]
Climate
Summers are mainly hot and dry, while winters are cool to cold. Despite being in the hot Sahara desert, it snowed in 1979 and in the winter of 2016/2017.[1] The municipality was sprinkled with some snow in December 2016, which was the first time that snow had fallen there since February 18, 1979, when a half-hour storm disrupted traffic.[1] A freak winter storm hit the area on January 20, 2017 dumping snow in the municipality up to a metre thick in some places. This was the largest snowfall in residents' memories and had caused travel disruptions due to the roads becoming slippery with ice, while the resident children made the most of the situation by sledding on the snow-covered sand dunes and making snowmen.[2]
| Climate data for Aïn Séfra | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 21.6 (70.9) |
24.1 (75.4) |
29.1 (84.4) |
32.3 (90.1) |
35.6 (96.1) |
40.1 (104.2) |
41.9 (107.4) |
42.9 (109.2) |
40.9 (105.6) |
32.4 (90.3) |
35.2 (95.4) |
24.0 (75.2) |
42.9 (109.2) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 12.4 (54.3) |
15.4 (59.7) |
17.4 (63.3) |
23.5 (74.3) |
27.4 (81.3) |
32.7 (90.9) |
37.6 (99.7) |
35.7 (96.3) |
32.1 (89.8) |
24.7 (76.5) |
16.3 (61.3) |
12.9 (55.2) |
24.0 (75.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 6.1 (43) |
8.4 (47.1) |
10.7 (51.3) |
15.7 (60.3) |
19.4 (66.9) |
24.1 (75.4) |
28.4 (83.1) |
27.2 (81) |
23.7 (74.7) |
17.1 (62.8) |
10.6 (51.1) |
6.9 (44.4) |
16.5 (61.7) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −0.3 (31.5) |
1.3 (34.3) |
4.0 (39.2) |
7.8 (46) |
11.4 (52.5) |
15.4 (59.7) |
19.2 (66.6) |
18.7 (65.7) |
15.3 (59.5) |
9.4 (48.9) |
4.9 (40.8) |
0.9 (33.6) |
9.0 (48.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −8.2 (17.2) |
−7.0 (19.4) |
−3.9 (25) |
1.0 (33.8) |
2.2 (36) |
7.9 (46.2) |
11.3 (52.3) |
13.5 (56.3) |
6.8 (44.2) |
3.3 (37.9) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
−10.2 (13.6) |
−10.2 (13.6) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 10 (0.39) |
12 (0.47) |
16 (0.63) |
20 (0.79) |
12 (0.47) |
8 (0.31) |
6 (0.24) |
6 (0.24) |
16 (0.63) |
28 (1.1) |
19 (0.75) |
16 (0.63) |
169 (6.65) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 40 |
| Average relative humidity (%) (at 7:00) | 79 | 76 | 68 | 58 | 59 | 46 | 39 | 46 | 51 | 68 | 77 | 78 | 62 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 223.2 | 240.1 | 279.0 | 282.0 | 328.6 | 354.0 | 362.7 | 344.1 | 309.0 | 254.2 | 195.0 | 201.5 | 3,373.4 |
| Mean daily sunshine hours | 7.2 | 8.5 | 9.0 | 9.4 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 11.7 | 11.1 | 10.3 | 8.2 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 9.2 |
| Source: Deutscher Wetterdienst[3] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1936 | 2,400 | — |
| 1954 | 20,100 | +737.5% |
| 1966 | 16,800 | −16.4% |
| 1987 | 23,800 | +41.7% |
| 1998 | 33,600 | +41.2% |
| Source: Populstat[4] | ||
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 Sharman, Jon (December 21, 2016). "First Sahara desert snow in 40 years captured in photographs". The Independent. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
- ↑ Summers, Chris; Robinson, Geoff (20 January 2017). "Sledging… in the Sahara! African desert region is hit by its biggest snowfall in living memory with snow up to a METRE deep". Daily Mail Online. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- ↑ "Klimatafel von Ain Sefra / Algerien" (PDF). Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ↑ populstat.info Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine.
