The Asiatic Continent.
—Owing to the fact that the distinction between Europe and Asia is a purely geographical convention, and that the area of the eastern extremity of the Mediterranean is of too small an area to exercise any marked influence, we find that once the Syrian shore is left behind we are at once under typical intra-continental weather conditions, with a wide range of temperature, and a rainfall either small or almost non-existent. Speaking generally, these arid conditions prevail over the whole of south-western Asia, from the coast of Palestine till we have crossed the five waters of the Punjab, and within these limits there are many places that can put the maximum thermometers of even Omdurman and Suakim to shame.
The scanty rainfall is almost confined to the hills, so that cultivation in the lower lands depends more or less completely on irrigation from the rivers that have their origin in the mountain masses, which attract to their peaks the lion’s share of the little moisture obtainable. On this account the greater part of western tropical Asia is desert, but in spite of this under-irrigation, Mesopotamia was once the granary of the world, and might still, under a more enlightened government, soon regain her position.
Palestine.
—On account of its petty area, the whole of Palestine must be considered as a part of the Mediterranean littoral, and hence enjoys a moderate rainfall, which, combined with almost continuous sunshine, without really excessive heat at any period of the year, renders the enthusiasm with which this little land is described by the sacred writers easily understood.
The following table will give some idea of the amount and distribution of the rainfall:—
| Place | Jerusalem | Smyrna | Jaffa | Beirut | Mosul | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latitude | 31° 47′ N. | 26° 38′ N. | 32° 4′ N. | 33° 54′ N. | 37° 20′ N. | |||||
| Scale | Ins. | Mm. | Ins. | Mm. | Ins. | Mm. | Ins. | Mm. | Ins. | Mm. |
| January | 6·30 | 160 | 4·14 | 105 | 5·71 | 145 | 7·40 | 188 | 3·47 | 88 |
| February | 5·75 | 146 | 2·95 | 75 | 3·63 | 92 | 6·03 | 153 | 3·08 | 78 |
| March | 3·58 | 91 | 3·35 | 85 | 1·46 | 37 | 3·89 | 98 | 0·93 | 24 |
| April | 1·73 | 44 | 1·78 | 45 | 1·08 | 27 | 2·32 | 59 | 0·78 | 20 |
| May | 0·29 | 7 | 1·26 | 32 | 0·28 | 7 | 0·55 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| June | 0 | 0 | 0·49 | 12 | 0·18 | 2 | 0·28 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| July | 0 | 0 | 0·19 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0·03 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| August | 0 | 0 | 0·12 | 3 | 0·04 | 1 | 0·03 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| September | 0·04 | 1 | 0·90 | 23 | 0·04 | 1 | 0·28 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| October | 0·39 | 10 | 1·79 | 43 | 0·68 | 17 | 1·93 | 49 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 2·04 | 52 | 4·25 | 108 | 3·32 | 84 | 5·39 | 137 | 1·03 | 26 |
| December | 5·35 | 136 | 4·41 | 112 | 5·39 | 137 | 7·40 | 188 | 3·70 | 94 |
| Year | 25·48 | 647 | 25·59 | 650 | 21·66 | 550 | 35·59 | 904 | 11·2 | 283 |
At Jerusalem the annual extremes of temperature are from 101·7° F. (38·7° C.) to just above freezing point, while on the sea-coast the range of climate is rather less marked.
The following table, adapted, like the preceding, from Hann, epitomises most of the necessary temperature data:—
| Place | Elevation above Sea | January Mean | April Mean | June Mean | October Mean | Annual Mean | Annual Range of Temperature | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ft. | M. | F. | C. | F. | C. | F. | C. | F. | C. | F. | C. | F. | C. | |
| Jerusalem | 2,510 | 765 | 47·3 | 8·4 | 59·9 | 15·5 | 75·7 | 24·3 | 68·7 | 20·5 | 62·9 | 17·1 | 67·3 | 38·5 |
| Smyrna | — | — | 45·5 | 7·5 | 56·8 | 13·8 | 79·5 | 26·4 | 65·4 | 18·5 | 61·7 | 16·5 | 79·2 | 44·0 |
| Jaffa | 50 | 15 | 54·0 | 12·2 | 68·4 | 20·2 | 83·5 | 28·6 | 78·8 | 26·0 | 70·2 | 21·2 | — | — |
| Beirut | 115 | 35 | 55·5 | 13·0 | 65·2 | 18·4 | 81·5 | 27·5 | 75·2 | 24·0 | 68·7 | 20·4 | 56·1 | 31·2 |
| Damascus | 2,380 | 725 | 45·0 | 7·2 | 58·7 | 14·8 | 80.0 | 26·7 | 67·0 | 19·4 | 63·4 | 17·4 | — | — |
| Mosul | 400 | 120 | 44·7 | 7·0 | 59·7 | 15·4 | 93.5 | 34·2 | 72·3 | 22·4 | 68·2 | 20·1 | — | — |