Western Asia,
West Asia,
Southwest Asia or
Southwestern Asia are terms that describe the westernmost
portion of
Asia. The terms are partly
coterminous with the
Middle East - which describes geographical position in relation to
Western Europe rather than location within Asia. Due to this perceived
Eurocentrism, international organizations such as the
United Nations,
[1] have replaced
Middle East and
Near East with Western Asia.
Western Asia is located directly south of Eastern Europe.
Western Asia is primarily arid and semi-arid, and can be subject to drought; nonetheless, there exists vast expanses of forests and fertile valleys. The region consists of grasslands, rangelands, deserts, and mountains. Water shortages are a problem in many parts of West Asia, with rapidly growing populations increasing demands for water, while salinization and pollution threaten water supplies.[2] Major rivers, including the Tigris and Euphrates, provide sources for irrigation water to support agriculture.
There are two wind phenomena in Western Asia the sharqi and the shamal. The sharqi (or sharki) is a wind that comes from the south and southeast. It is seasonal, lasting from April to early June, and comes again between late September and November. The winds are dry and dusty, with occasional gusts up to 80 kilometers per hour (50 miles per hour) and often kick up violent sand and dust storms that can carry sand a few thousand meters high, and can close down airports for short periods of time. These winds can last for a full day at the beginning and end of the season, and for several days during the middle of the season. The shamal is a summer northwesterly wind blowing over Iraq and the Persian Gulf states (including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), often strong during the day, but decreasing at night. This weather effect occurs anywhere from once to several times a year.[3]
