Weather and Climate

The climate in Altyn-Emel is sharply continental, with frosty, cold and dry winters, dry springs, hot and dry summers, little snow and rain, sometimes frosts in late spring and early autumn.

The Altyn-Emel climate is influenced by all air masses (except for the equatorial one), most of all by the continental air of temperate latitudes. Since there are mountains in the northern part of the region, they prevent the penetration of cold air masses.

Altyn-Emel belongs to the zone of increased intensity of solar radiation. Daylight hours range from 9 hours in December to 15.4 hours in June.

The average duration of the frost-free period is 206 days, the smallest is 152 days, the longest is 232 days. The first frosts are observed on average in October from the third decade. In spring, frosts are observed on average until the first ten days of April.

Dry, windy weather prevails, dust storms are not uncommon.

The highest air temperature is observed in July, about plus 30°C on average.

The lowest temperature values are observed in January, minus 7°С on average.

The recorded absolute maximum in the summer months is plus 44°С. The absolute minimum air temperature was minus 35°С.

The annual amount of precipitation is uneven, not exceeding 300-330 mm. The predominant amount of precipitation falls in April-May (31-32 mm) and October (28 mm). In most cases, the amount of precipitation is less than 2 mm, rarely - more than 10 mm. In the plains, precipitation averages about 200 mm per year, in the mountains - 300 mm. In desert regions, the evaporation rate during the summer months can exceed the amount of annual precipitation by almost 10 times. The lowest values of relative humidity are observed from July to September. The minimum relative humidity is observed in August.

Snow cover is often absent. A stable snow cover forms in the third decade of December and lasts until the beginning of March. The height of the snow cover is 5-10 cm on average. There is almost no snow near the Kapchagai Lake. Significant masses of snow accumulate in gullies and narrow river valleys, as well as at the foot of mountains and around stones.

The territory of the Altyn-Emel park is distinguished by a relatively high purity of atmospheric air, since there are no large industrial enterprises and other objects that pollute the atmosphere within a radius of 200-300 km. In the northeastern part, the territory of the park is crossed by the Saryozek-Zharkent road, its capacity is not high, since the main cargo transportation in both directions China-Kazakhstan is carried out along the Zharkent-Shonzhy-Almaty highway, which runs along the left bank of the Ili River and does not affect the park territory.

In addition, the frequent east-west winds quickly cleanse the air of the entire Ili basin, which is a kind of plain corridor between the high mountain ranges of the Northern Tien Shan and Dzhungarian Alatau.