Climate, Land, Plant and Animal life

Richard Messenger-Flicker

Qatar’s summer from June to September is sunny and exceptionally humid. Summer daytime temperatures can frequently push the temperature to 40°C or above. Summer nights are slightly less hot.

Winter is cooler (December and January) with occasional rain but the whether is moderate with the daily winter temperatures averaging between 15°C and 20°C.

Many of the local residents choose to travel in the hot summer months- government has, however, initiated various attractions and activities encouraging people to stay during that hot period.
For the most part, Qatar has arid conditions and its landscape primarily consists of sand dunes and rocky hills. Vegetation is sparse, if not totally absent but suddenly comes to life when it rains. Overnight the brown dry landscape turns green, with grass, lush shrubs and colourful flowers.

Although agriculture is very limited in this country, it does occur but is totally reliant on irrigation. There are many Date Palm “farms’ which mainly get water from underground wells. In the North Central part of Qatar, rainwater is collected through the drainage basins but most of the water comes from desalination plants.

The Arabian oryx is a protected specie and Qatar’s national animal.