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Asian Climate
Because of Asia's tremendous size, its regions have a wide variety of climates. These varied climates include the bitter cold of the polar north; the hot, dry desert environment of the center and southwest; and the hot, humid conditions of the tropical south. The map and legend show what the climate is like throughout the continent.
Climate
Winds called monsoons influence the climate of much of Asia. A monsoon blows regularly in the same direction during definite seasons. In winter, monsoons from the north move into East Asia and cause cold, dry weather. The wind switches in summer and blows from the seas that lie south and southeast of that region. It causes hot, humid weather.
Rainfall
Most of East Asia's rain falls between April and October. The rainfall is heaviest in the east, and it decreases away from the sea.
Monsoons from the northeast pass through South Asia and Southeast Asia from November to March. They cause the coolest weather in those two regions. Beginning in April, monsoons from the southwest send temperatures soaring. From May to October, wet monsoons bring heavy rains from the south seas. Many of these monsoons cause floods.
In Southwest Asia, monsoons affect only the southern and southwestern coasts of the Arabian Peninsula. Most of Southwest Asia has long, hot summers and mild winters. Inland, temperatures often climb above 115 degrees F (46 degrees C) in summer. But there are no clouds to keep the daytime heat close to the earth at night. A warm but comfortable night may follow an extremely hot day. The region's heaviest rains fall in Turkey near the Black Sea and in the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian seas. Some parts of the Arabian Peninsula receive no rain for several years at a time.
Bitter cold polar weather keeps part of northern Siberia's land frozen the year around. In the grasslands in the southwest, the temperatures vary from 3 degrees F (-16 degrees C) in January to 64 degrees F (18 degrees C) in July. Central Asia's climate ranges from extremely cold in its mountain regions to extremely hot and dry in the deserts.
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