Climate in Albania
Despite rather small in size, Albania has a high number of climatic regions, a direct result of its unique geographical position: Albania’s coastline faces the Adriatic and Ionian seas, its highlands are backed upon the elevated Balkan landmass and as a whole, lies at a latitude subject to a variety of weather patterns during the winter and summer seasons. Around the area of the coastal lowlands a typically Mediterranean weather type prevails, while in the highlands the patterns change to Mediterranean continental.
Meanwhile, both the lowlands and the interior experience varying weather conditions that change markedly from north to south. The lowland area experiences mild winters with average temperatures around 7 °C during the winter season and 24 °C in summer. In comparison to the southern lowland region, the northern lowlands experience lower temperature averages of about 5 °C throughout the year. However the difference diminishes during the summer season and increases in winter.
Elevation rather than latitude has the biggest influence on the development of weather patterns in the inland region. The continental air mass that dominates the weather in Eastern Europe and the Balkans has an imposing effect on Albania weather forcing temperatures to fall considerably during the winter season. Northerly and north-easterly winds blow much of the time and the coastal area experiences lower average summer temperatures. Temperature levels become much lower at higher elevations, but daily fluctuations are greater. The interior basins as well as the river valleys experience higher daytime maximum temperatures, but the nights are almost always cool.
Albania experiences heavy average precipitation, which stems from convergence of the prevailing airflow from the Mediterranean Sea and the continental air mass. As a general rule, the central uplands experience the heaviest rainfalls in the country, as they are situated at the point where airflow from the Mediterranean Sea and the continental air mass meet. Thunderstorms often accompanied by high local winds and torrential downpours, frequently appear in the area, caused when the Mediterranean air is uplifted by vertical currents.
Mediterranean winds tend to drop their moisture further inland especially when the continental air mass is weak. In contrast occurring mostly in winter, cold air spills onto the lowland areas when a dominant continental air mass appears over the region.
E even in areas with high average winter temperatures, groves and orchards are restricted to sheltered places with southern and western exposures, as the season’s lower temperatures damage olive trees and citrus fruits. Albania receives around 95% of its annual rainfall during the winter season, with the lowland areas averaging between 1,000 millimetres to more than 1,500 millimetres annually, its northern areas experiencing the higher levels.
The upland mountain ranges experience significantly heavier rainfalls. Although adequate records are not available, and estimates vary widely, it is believed that annual averages are about 1,800 millimetres, with some northern areas receiving as much as 2,550 millimetres annually. The seasonal variation is not quite as great in the coastal area.
The intermediate uplands receive considerably more precipitation than the higher inland mountains. Although terrain differences cause wide local fluctuation, the area enjoys the most consistent seasonal distribution in the country.
