Cyprus is
divided into two mountain masses and a central plain between them known as the
Mesaoria Plain.
The
Troodos Mountains, formed of molten igneous rock, cover most of the south and
west of the island, accounting for roughly half its area. They include Mount
Olympus, which is the island’s highest peak at 1,951 m (6,401 ft).
To the
north of the Mesaoria Plain, the narrow Kyrenia Range, extends along the
northern coastline, occupies considerably less area, and is a narrow limestone
ridge that rises suddenly from the plains. Its easternmost extension becomes a
series of foothills on the Karpas Peninsula. That peninsula points toward Asia
Minor, to which Cyprus belongs geologically.
Geologists
believe that copper deposits discovered on the slopes of the Troodos Mountains
originally formed under the Mediterranean Sea.
Centuries
of deforestation have seriously affected the island's drainage system and made
access to a year-round supply of water difficult. A network of rivers flows
from the Troodos Mountains in all directions, but all of the island's rivers
remain dry during the summer months the summer. As a consequence, an extensive
system of dams has been built to bring water to farming areas.
Productiveness
of the Mesaoria Plain, the agricultural heartland of the island, depends on
winter rain and irrigation. The capital of the island, Lefkosia, lies in the
middle of this central plain.
Cyprus has
an intense Mediterranean climate with hot dry summers from mid-May to
mid-September and rainy winters from November to mid-March. These are separated by rather short
autumn and spring seasons of swift change in weather conditions.
At
latitude 350 N, Longitude 330 E, Cyprus has a change in day length from 9.8
hours in December to 14.5 hours in June.
The summer
is a season of high temperatures and almost negligible rainfall. During the winter Cyprus is near the
track of fairly frequent small depressions that give periods of disturbed weather
usually lasting from one to three days and produce most of the annual
precipitation, the average fall from December to February being about 60% of
the annual total.
Rainfall
in the warm months contributes little or nothing to water resources and
agriculture, and the autumn and winter rainfall, on which agriculture and water
supply generally depend, is rather unpredictable.
Average annual rainfall:
480 mm. Statistical analysis reveals a decreasing trend of rainfall
amounts in the last 30 years.
Highest registered rainfall:
759 mm (1968/69)
Lowest registered rainfall:
182 mm (1972/73)
Snow:
Frequent every winter on ground above
1,000 m (3,200 ft)
In the lowlands:
2 or 3 times a year
In the mountains:
6 to 9 times a year
Variation
according to altitude:
5C per 1,000 m (3,200 ft)
Seasonal
difference between mid-summer and mid-winter temperatures:
- Inland: 18C
- Seaside: 14C
Difference
between day maximum and night minimum temperatures:
·
Winter: 8°C to 10°C on the lowlands and 5°C to 6°C on the mountains
·
Summer: 16°C on the central plain and 9°C to 12°C
elsewhere
Mean daily
temperatures:
·
Winter:
10°C on the central plain and 3°C on the higher parts of Troodos
·
Summer:
29°C on the central plain and 22°C on the Troodos mountains
Average
maximum and minimum temperatures:
·
Central plain: Maximum 36°C. Minimum 5°C
·
Troodos Mountains: Maximum 27°C. Minimum 0°C
Maximum
sea temperature:
27°C-28°C (August)
Average
sea temperature:
·
June to November: 22°C
·
January to March: 16°C to 17°C
Winter and nights:
65-95%
Summer:
15-30%
Average hours of sunshine:
75% of the time the
sun is above the horizon
Summer:
11.5 hours (average)
Winter:
5.5 hours in the cloudiest months
(December and January)
