10
The local Central Asian climates are of three types: (1) climates of the temperate
zone, (2) climates of the dry subtropical zone, and (3) mountain climates of Tien
Shan, Pamir-Alai, Pamir, and Kopetdag with a well-marked altitudinal-belt zonality
(Alamanov et al. 2006). The elevation ranges from −229 to 7447 m (Fig. 2.1). The
average annual precipitation in Central Asia is 254 mm, the minimum is 66 mm, and
the maximum is 1222 mm (Fig. 2.2).
The mountainous regions in Central Asia represent the area of feeding and the
formation of river flows and are characterized by a well-developed river network. A
characteristic feature of the region is the transboundary nature of the overwhelming
majority of rivers, which directly impacts the formation of the water policy of the
Fig. 2.1 Digital Elevation Model of Central Asia, 90-m Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Digital
Elevation Model (SRTM DEM 90 m (Jarvis et al. 2008))
Table 2.1 Land resources and various agriculture indicators of Central Asian countries. After
Nurbekov et al. (2016)
Country
Territory
(M ha)
Cropland
(M ha)
Irrigated
land (M ha)
Rainfed
land (M ha)
Per capita
cropland (ha)
Agric.
GDP (%)
Kazakhstan
272.5
24
1.6
22.1
1.41
5.3
Kyrgyzstan
20.0
1.4
1.1
0.3
0.23
25.8
Tajikistan
14.2
0.9
0.7
0.2
0.10
19.8
Turkmenistan 48.8
1.8
1.8
0.0
0.33
22.1
Uzbekistan
44.7
4.3
4.3
0.5
0.15
19.4
Total
400.3
33
9.5
23.1
0.48
9.9
2 Natural Conditions in Central Asia