Climate

Climate of Libya

     Changing climatic phenomena have different effects on biological systems in general and vegetation in particular, and to know the effects of climate on the distribution and spread of ecosystems and natural vegetation cover in Libya, we will explain the most important climatic regions. The impact of geographic location, topography and coast direction is reflected in Libya’s climate, which is a mixture of marine and desert climate, and it is difficult to separate neighboring regions due to the overlap and similarity of the climatic components of those regions.

Based on the (Emperger classification), bioclimatic ranges have been identified in Libya where seven regions are evident:

1-Semi-humid and warm climate.

2- Semi-arid and warm climate.

3- Semi-arid and hot climate.

4- Semi-arid and temperate climate.

5-Semi-arid and warm climate.

6 – Dry and hot climate.

7 – Dry and warm climate.

The coastal strip overlooking the Mediterranean is dominated by four types of climate:

The semi-humid and warm climate and unique in Shahat located in the green mountain whish receive the highest amounts of rain in Libya (584 mm / year).

The semi-arid and warm climate in Misrata, the semi-arid and hot climate in Darnah and Tripoli, The semi-arid and hot climate in Benina, Sirte and Zouara, all located in the former coastal area. We also note the presence of three types of climate in the western mountain region:

The semi-arid and warm climate in Gharian.

The semi-arid and temperate climate in Zintan.

   His is due to the asymmetry of rainfall in the two previous areas, because the second area( Zintan)falls under the shadow of the rain, while  (Gharyan) is subject to mountain impact on the one hand, in addition to its proximity to the area of cyclonic activity on the other.

The dry and warm climate prevails in the rest of the western mountain represented by Nalut and Yevern.

The dry and warm climate covers most of Libya; it extends to the central coastal area between Sirte and Ajdabiya and the eastern coastal region stretching from Darnah to the Egyptian border, due to low rainfall and high temperatures

Three geo-thermal regions appear whose boundaries are based on isothermal lines, with a range of two degrees from one line to another.

The first region: represents most of Libya except the areas of Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar, the Jabal Nafousa, the Jafara plain and the narrow coastal strip extending from Misrata to Ajdabiya and from Darnah to Tobruk.

      The annual average temperature in its regions exceeds (20 degrees Celsius) and this region is considered the hottest areas of Libya because of its location within the continental orbit, which is dominated by dry continental air masses, especially in the summer.

Second Region: It covered the northeastern regions:

      Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar, the coastal area extending from Darnah to Tobruk, and the northwestern regions of (the Jabal Nafousa, the plain of Jafara, and the coastal area in the form of a narrow strip from Misrata to Ajdabiya). Where the annual average temperature ranged between (18-20 degrees Celsius) and shows in this region the impact of sea factor on lower temperatures in addition to its location on higher latitudes compared to the previous region, and less affected by dry orbital air masses.

Third Region:

       It appears in the northern high mountainous areas of Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar and Jabal Nafousa, and has an annual average temperature below (18 d. C), which is less heat than the previous two regions due to the elevation factor and the abundance of vegetation especially in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar.