One of the most commonly used claims when praising the nature of Azerbaijan is that "9 out of 11 climate zones in the world are present in Azerbaijan."
MP Nagif Hamzayev was one of the last to make this claim.
"The presence of 9 out of 11 climate zones in Azerbaijan, our natural resources, rich historical and cultural heritage, national cuisine, socio-economic development of our country, its transformation into an island of stability have attracted tourists from all over the world in recent years," he told Trend.
Fakt Yoxla examined whether this claim was true.
Climate zones are homogeneous climatic areas located along the latitude of the Earth and differ significantly from each other. Russian climatologist Alisov has divided the world into 13 climate zones based on the fact that the Sun heats the Earth's surface unevenly. This division is classified according to the circulatory characteristics of the atmosphere. According to this classification, each hemisphere has four major climate zones: equatorial, tropical, temperate, and polar. Among the main zones are the transition zones called subequatorial, subtropical, subpolar (subarctic and subantarctic) in both the northern and southern hemispheres.
Climate zones of the world. The screenshot was taken from a ninth-grade geography textbook. (P.S. In the picture above: Ekvatorial - Equatorial, Tropik - Tropical, Mülayim - Temperate, Arktik və Antarktik - Arctic and Antarctic, Subekvatorial - Subequatorial, Subtropik - Subtropical, Subarktik və Subantarktik - Subarctic and Subantarctic)
Azerbaijan is located in northen hemisphere 38°25′ – 41°55′ north latitudes and 44°50′-50°51′ east longitudes. The country is mainly sutuated in subtropical and partly temperate sones. The complex relief creates different climate types changing from plains to mountains.
There are 8 climate types in Azerbaijan within 3 climate zones:
1. Semi-desert and arid steppe climate
2. Moderate climate with dry winters
3. Moderate climate with dry summers
4. Cold climate with dry winters
5. Cold climate with dry summers
6. Moderate climate with equal distribution of precipitation
7. Cold climate with heavy precipitation year-round
8. Mountainous tundra climate.
Map: Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources
Maharram Hasanov, director of philosophy at the Institute of Geography of the National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), told Trendthat, in some cases, semi-desert and arid steppe climates are considered as two types; thus, some incorrectly says that there are 9 climate types in Azerbaijan.
Thus, Azerbaijan is located in subtropical and temperate climate zones and within these climate zones there are eight climate types substituting each other from planes to mountains.
Fakt Yoxla concludes that the claims that "9 out of 11 climate zones in the world are present in Azerbaijan" are Myths.
PS. After the publication the distribution percent of Azerbaijani territory due to climate zones and climate types has been removed from article, since it caused confusion. Thus the articles was framed only in numbers of climate zones and types.
