Why is Almaty so warm in January: Forecasters explain

Tengrinews.kz – Forecasters have explained the unusually warm weather that has settled in Almaty in January. According to specialists, the temperature increase is due to the inflow of warm air masses from the southwest — from the regions of Central Asia, including Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan.

As reported by Daulet Kissebayev, head of the meteorological forecast department of the Kazhydromet branch for Almaty and Almaty region, this direction of air mass transport has become the key factor behind the mild winter weather. On some days in January, air temperatures in Almaty rose to +11 °C.

There was virtually no precipitation during this period. According to Kisebaev, light snowfalls occurred only at night on 1 and 2 January; the rest of the time the weather remained warm.

At the same time, Kissebayev noted that it is still too early to call this January anomalously warm. Final conclusions can only be drawn after the end of winter, once the monthly average temperatures are calculated and deviations from the climatic norm are determined.

“For Almaty, a warm January is not uncommon,” Daulet Kissebayev stressed.

As an example, he cited data from previous years. For instance, on 6 January 2000 the air temperature in the city rose to +16.1 °C, and the absolute maximum was recorded on 7 January 2002 at +18.2 °C. Warm spells were also observed in the second ten-day period of January 2007, when temperatures ranged from +12 to +15 °C, and on 20 January 2014, when thermometers climbed to +12…+13 °C.

By the way, a cold spell is expected in Almaty by the end of the week, on 16 January. According to forecasters, on Friday morning, as well as on Saturday and Sunday, snow is expected at times.

Earlier, Kazhydromet forecasters presented the weather forecast for 13, 14 and 15 January. According to it, some regions of the country will be hit by almost forty-degree frosts.