Damascus Governorate محافظة دمشق | |
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.svg) Coat of arms | |
 Map of Syria with Damascus highlighted | |
 Interactive map of Damascus Governorate | |
| Coordinates (Damascus):33°30′47″N36°17′31″E / 33.513°N 36.292°E /33.513; 36.292 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Capital | Damascus |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Maher Marwan[1] |
| Population (2022 est.) | |
• Total | 2,685,000[2] |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (AST) |
| ISO 3166 code | SY-DI |
| Main language(s) | Arabic |
Damascus Governorate (Arabic:مُحافظة دمشقMuḥāfaẓat Dimashq) is one of the fourteengovernorates (provinces) ofSyria. Completely surrounded by theRif Dimashq Governorate, it consists only of the city ofDamascus, the capital of Syria.
The governorate's area is around 107 km2, encompassing the area of the city of Damascus, while the population is around 2,503,000.
Damascus occupies a strategic location on a plateau which rises 680 m (2,230 ft) above sea level and about 80 km (50 mi) inland from the Mediterranean, sheltered by the Anti-Lebanon mountains, supplied with water by the Barada River. The Anti-Lebanon mountains which mark the border between Syria and Lebanon, block precipitation from the Mediterranean sea, so that the region of Damascus is sometimes subject to droughts. However, in ancient times this was mitigated by the Barada River, which originates from mountain streams fed by melting snow. Damascus is surrounded by theGhouta, an irrigated farmland where many vegetables, cereals, and fruits have been farmed since ancient times.
The governorate occupies an area of 107 km2, 79 km2 of which is urban while the rest is occupied byMount Qasioun which overlooks the city.
Damascus has acold desert climate (BWk) inKöppen-Geiger system,[3] due to therain shadow effect of the Anti-Lebanon mountains[4] and the prevailing ocean currents. Summers are dry and hot with less humidity. Winters are cool and somewhat rainy; snowfall is infrequent. Annual rainfall is around 130 mm (5 in), occurring from October to May.
| Climate data for Damascus (Damascus International Airport) 1981–2010 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 24.0 (75.2) | 29.0 (84.2) | 34.4 (93.9) | 38.4 (101.1) | 41.0 (105.8) | 44.8 (112.6) | 46.0 (114.8) | 44.6 (112.3) | 42.0 (107.6) | 37.8 (100.0) | 31.0 (87.8) | 25.1 (77.2) | 46.0 (114.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 12.6 (54.7) | 14.5 (58.1) | 19.0 (66.2) | 24.7 (76.5) | 30.1 (86.2) | 34.6 (94.3) | 37.0 (98.6) | 36.8 (98.2) | 33.9 (93.0) | 28.1 (82.6) | 20.1 (68.2) | 14.3 (57.7) | 25.5 (77.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 6.1 (43.0) | 7.7 (45.9) | 11.4 (52.5) | 16.2 (61.2) | 20.8 (69.4) | 25.0 (77.0) | 27.3 (81.1) | 27.0 (80.6) | 24.0 (75.2) | 19.0 (66.2) | 12.1 (53.8) | 7.5 (45.5) | 17.0 (62.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.7 (33.3) | 1.9 (35.4) | 4.3 (39.7) | 7.9 (46.2) | 11.4 (52.5) | 15.0 (59.0) | 17.9 (64.2) | 17.7 (63.9) | 14.4 (57.9) | 10.3 (50.5) | 4.8 (40.6) | 1.7 (35.1) | 9.0 (48.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −12.2 (10.0) | −12 (10) | −8 (18) | −7.5 (18.5) | 0.6 (33.1) | 4.5 (40.1) | 9.0 (48.2) | 8.6 (47.5) | 2.1 (35.8) | −3.0 (26.6) | −8 (18) | −10.2 (13.6) | −12.2 (10.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 25.0 (0.98) | 26.0 (1.02) | 20.0 (0.79) | 7.0 (0.28) | 4.0 (0.16) | 1.0 (0.04) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.3 (0.01) | 6.0 (0.24) | 21.0 (0.83) | 21.0 (0.83) | 131.3 (5.18) |
| Average precipitation days | 8 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 42.5 |
| Average snowy days | 1 | 1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 2.3 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 76 | 69 | 59 | 50 | 43 | 41 | 44 | 48 | 47 | 52 | 63 | 75 | 56 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 164.3 | 182.0 | 226.3 | 249.0 | 322.4 | 357.0 | 365.8 | 353.4 | 306.0 | 266.6 | 207.0 | 164.3 | 3,164.1 |
| Mean dailysunshine hours | 5.3 | 6.5 | 7.3 | 8.3 | 10.4 | 11.9 | 11.8 | 11.4 | 10.2 | 8.6 | 6.9 | 5.3 | 8.5 |
| Source 1: Pogoda.ru.net[5] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA (sunshine hours, 1961–1990)[6] | |||||||||||||
| Sunnis | 90% | |||
| Alawites | 5% | |||
| Christians | 3% | |||
| Shias | 1% | |||
| Druze | 0.3% | |||
| Ismailis | 0.1% | |||
By the end of 2011, Damascus’s population reached 1,754,000. This amounts to 8% of Syria’s population. It is composed of 95%Arabs, 4%Kurds, and 1% other ethnicities, includingPalestinians,Armenians,Assyrians,Turkmen,Circassians, andChechens.
As for religious composition,Sunni Muslims made up the absolute majority with 90% of the governorate, whileAlawite Muslims made up 5%,Christians (mainlyGreek Orthodox,Greek Catholic,Syriac Orthodox,Syriac Catholic, andArmenian Orthodox) made up 3%,Twelver Shia Muslims made up 1%, theDruze made up 0.3%, andIsmaili Muslims made up 0.1%.
