Environment and Climate
There are those who have gotten lost in the sharqi wind, the dust wind. They stagger through the sand and dust until they fall down and die. Their bones lie bleaching in the blistering rays of the sun only fifteen feet from the safety of the city gate which they could not find. - Amar, tour guide of Baghdad.
Travelers to Baghdad be warned. The climate of the plain in which Baghdad rests can be brutal and harsh. Strong winds, called sharqis or sharkis, blow from the east and can choke you with the dust they kick up as they reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour. These winds combined with an average rainfall of four to eight inches makes most of Iraq a dry desert. The lack of water in the ground means little flora can survive besides those plants especially designed to live in this waterless land. Tough shrubs and trees, like date palms, cling to life in the desert. With average temperatures of above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the desert heat has been known to reach maximums of 120 degrees Fahrenheit. During the night the temperature plummets to 30 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature becomes mild and the weather sunny during the winter and cool breezes, called shamals , blow out of the north from June to September.