Peshawar is located near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass and sits mainly on the Iranian plateau along with the rest of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Peshawar is literally a frontier city of South-Central Asia and was historically part of the Silk Road.
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The Valley of Peshawar is covered with consolidated deposits of silt, sands and gravel of recent geological times. The flood Plains/Zones are the areas between Kabul River and Budni Nala. The meander flood plain extends from Warsak in the Northwest towards Southeast in the upper Northern half of the district. The Kabul river enters the district in the Northwest. On entering the Peshawar Plain, the Kabul River is divided into several channels. Its two main channels are the Adizai River Eastward flows along the boundary with Charsadda District. Another channel branching from the right bank of the Naguman River is the Shah Alam, which again merges with Naguman River further in the East. In general the sub-soil strata is composed of gravels, boulders, and sands overlain by silts and clays. Sand, gravel and boulders are important aquifer extends to a depth of about 200 feet (61 m). As further confined water bearing aquifer occurs at depths greater than 400 feet (120 m).
Winter in Peshawar starts from mid November to the end of March. Summer months are May to September. The mean maximum temperature in summer is over 40 °C (104 °F) and the mean minimum temperature is 25 °C (77 °F). The mean minimum temperature during winter is 4 °C (39 °F) and maximum is 18.35 °C (65.03 °F).
Peshawar is not situated in the monsoon region, unlike the other northern parts of Pakistan. But occasionally monsoon currents make it as far as Peshawar causing downpours. This can be witnessed in the erratic monsoon of 2015 when the monsoon moisture was going well into eastern Afghanistan. The winter rainfall due to western disturbances shows a higher record during the months of February and April. The highest winter rainfall has been recorded in March, while the highest summer rainfall in the month of August. The average winter rainfall is higher than that of the summer. Based on a 30-year record, the average 30-year annual precipitation has been recorded as 400 millimetres (16 in). The relative humidity varies from 46% in June to 76% in August.
Peshawar's environment has suffered tremendously due to an ever-increasing population, unplanned growth and a poor regulatory framework. Air and noise pollution is a significant issue in several parts of the city, and the water quality, once considered to be exceptionally good, is also fast deteriorating.[1]
In addition the city has lost 2,700 acres (1,100 ha) of agriculture land during the two decades (1965–85). This in the addition to 400 acres (160 ha) of vacant land that has been also eaten up by expending urban functions. In the same period, the land under parks and green space has shrunk from 163 to 75 acres (66–30 ha).[2]
| Climate data for Peshawar (1991-2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 27.0 (80.6) |
30.0 (86.0) |
37.5 (99.5) |
42.2 (108.0) |
45.2 (113.4) |
48.0 (118.4) |
46.6 (115.9) |
46.0 (114.8) |
42.0 (107.6) |
38.5 (101.3) |
35.0 (95.0) |
29.0 (84.2) |
48.0 (118.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 18.1 (64.6) |
20.1 (68.2) |
24.7 (76.5) |
30.6 (87.1) |
36.5 (97.7) |
39.6 (103.3) |
37.4 (99.3) |
35.9 (96.6) |
34.8 (94.6) |
31.0 (87.8) |
25.2 (77.4) |
20.6 (69.1) |
29.5 (85.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 11.3 (52.3) |
13.8 (56.8) |
18.2 (64.8) |
23.9 (75.0) |
29.4 (84.9) |
32.7 (90.9) |
32.1 (89.8) |
30.9 (87.6) |
29.0 (84.2) |
24.1 (75.4) |
17.8 (64.0) |
13.2 (55.8) |
23.0 (73.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 4.6 (40.3) |
7.6 (45.7) |
12.2 (54.0) |
17.2 (63.0) |
22.3 (72.1) |
25.8 (78.4) |
26.8 (80.2) |
26.0 (78.8) |
23.2 (73.8) |
17.1 (62.8) |
10.4 (50.7) |
5.6 (42.1) |
16.6 (61.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −3.9 (25.0) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
1.7 (35.1) |
6.7 (44.1) |
11.7 (53.1) |
13.3 (55.9) |
18.0 (64.4) |
19.4 (66.9) |
12.0 (53.6) |
8.3 (46.9) |
1.1 (34.0) |
−1.3 (29.7) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 39.8 (1.57) |
69.9 (2.75) |
78.2 (3.08) |
68.1 (2.68) |
26.7 (1.05) |
25.4 (1.00) |
69.0 (2.72) |
68.5 (2.70) |
34.8 (1.37) |
26.7 (1.05) |
16.9 (0.67) |
17.3 (0.68) |
541.3 (21.32) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 3.9 | 5.7 | 7.6 | 5.8 | 4.6 | 2.1 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 48.8 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 195.5 | 189.5 | 194.5 | 231.3 | 297.1 | 299.5 | 273.8 | 263.2 | 257.3 | 266.1 | 234.8 | 184.4 | 2,887 |
| Source 1: NOAA (sun, 1961-1990)[3] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: PMD[4] | |||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Daily Times - Latest Pakistan News, World, Business, Sports, Lifestyle". Daily Times. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
- ^ History of Peshawar By Asghar Jaaved[permanent dead link] August 6, 2007 Monday
- ^ "Peshawar Climate Normals 1991–2020". World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ "Extremes of Peshawar". Pakistan Meteorological Department. Retrieved February 2, 2015.