The climate of Isfahan
BWk Cold desert. Very dry, with cool or cold conditions through the year. A desert because of dryness, but cooler on average than a hot desert, often with cold winters. Typical of high plateaus and continental interiors.
Isfahan is north of the equator, so summer falls in June to August and winter in December to February. The 1901 to 1930 map puts Isfahan in the same zone, BWk.
Isfahan: then, now and by 2100
| Map | Climate zone | Compared with now |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 to 1930 | BWk Cold desert | Same as now |
| 1991 to 2020 (now) | BWk Cold desert | - |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP1-2.6 (low emissions) | BWh Hot desert | Different from now |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP2-4.5 (middle of the road) | BWh Hot desert | Different from now |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP5-8.5 (high emissions) | BWh Hot desert | Different from now |
The 2071 to 2099 rows are model projections under three emissions scenarios, not forecasts. The 1901 to 1930 row is a reconstruction. All come from Beck et al. (2023).
Under the middle-of-the-road scenario (SSP2-4.5), the model puts Isfahan in BWh (hot desert) in 2071 to 2099, instead of BWk now. Under the high-emissions scenario (SSP5-8.5) it is BWh (hot desert).
Cities with the same climate as Isfahan
Other big cities that are BWk (cold desert) in 1991 to 2020, at most two per country:
Where Isfahan's future climate exists today
In the SSP2-4.5 map for 2071 to 2099, Isfahan is BWh. These cities are BWh in 1991 to 2020, so they give a rough idea of the future climate (the real conditions would differ in many ways).
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Population of Isfahan from GeoNames: 1,547,164 (rank 314 in our list of 1,000). Climate data: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0. Data sources and licences.