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Geography & Climate

Geographic Location

The Kingdom of Bahrain, a small island developing state (SIDS) and also the third smallest nation in Asia, is an archipelago consisting of more than 33 natural low-lying islands with a disputed total number of approximately 84 islands, natural and man-made. The island harbors numerous shoals and patches of reefs situated centrally off the southern coastline of the Arabian Gulf between the eastern shore of Saudi Arabia and the western coast of the Qatar Peninsula (Bahrain’s Fifth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2016) (Bahrain’s Fifth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2016.pdf). 

Bahrain’s total land mass is about 785.08 km2 and occupies approximately 7,484 km2 of territorial waters (IGA, 2022). Of this area, 15%, around 111km2, is reclaimed land. These reclamation and dredging projects have led to notable changes in Bahrain’s coastal areas in terms of excessive siltation, increased turbidity of seawater and increased salinity of groundwater (Bahrain’s Third National Communication Report, 2020)(Bahrain’s Third National Communication Report.pdf).

15

15%, around 111km2, is reclaimed land

The terrestrial landscape in Bahrain is predominantly arid desert with limited inland waters along with outcroppings of limestone structures that portray low hills and cliffs. This supports desert vegetation mainly thorn trees and scrubs due to the saline sand soil. With a mostly flat topography, the highest point on Bahrain’s main island is Jabal Al Dukhan at 135 meters (Bahrain’s Third National Communication Report, 2020). The Jabal’s name, which translates to Mountain of Smoke, is attributed to the black mist that often engulfs it.

Bahrain is characterized by a predominantly desert habitat with limited arable land, known as the fertile strip, located along the north and northwestern coast of the country. Arable land accounts for 2.1% of the total land mass (Bahrain’s Third National Communication Report, 2020) and is recorded to sustain growth of various fruits such as dates, almonds, pomegranate, figs, and olive trees. Alternatively, the marine biotopes are diverse albeit the prevailing harsh physical environment and include extensive seagrass beds and mudflats, patchy coral reefs as well as offshore islands.

Climate

Bahrain features an arid predominantly subtropical climate and hence is featured by high temperature and humidity levels with scarce rainfall. It has two main seasons – hot summers and relatively mild winters.

Bahrain’s climatic conditions can reach an average minimum of 17.1℃ in December and an average maximum of 34.6℃ in August with scarce rainfall throughout the year adding up to an average of 8.1mm where some months (June-October) experience little to no rainfall (Table 1).

The Shamal (winds from the southeast moving in a northwesterly direction direction) are known to bring damp air over the lands between December and March. These months showcase higher average relative humid conditions compared to the remainder months fluctuating between an average of 72-65%. On some days, average relative humidity is known to reach over 90%.


Month
Average Temperature () Annual Rainfall (mm) Mean Daily Relative Humidity (%) Average Wind Speed (m/sec)
January 17.1 19.5 72 5.1
February 18.2 19.0 70 5.3
March 21.1 16.4 65 5.1
April 25.6 9.5 59 4.7
May 30.5 1.4 54 4.8
June 33.1 0.0 53 5.5
July 34.5 0.0 56 4.6
August 34.6 0.0 61 4.1
September 32.8 0.0 63 3.8
October 29.5 0.4 65 3.9
November 24.5 13.1 67 4.6
December 19.4 18.4 72 4.9
Minimum 17.1 0.0 53 3.8
Maximum 34.6 19.5 72 5.5
Average 26.7 8.1 63 4.7

Table 1 – Climatic Indicators for Bahrain, 1960 – 2017 (Source: Bahrain Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications, adapted from: Bahrain’s Third Communication Report)

Climate

Bahrain features an arid predominantly subtropical climate and hence is featured by high temperature and humidity levels with scarce rainfall. It has two main seasons – hot summers and relatively mild winters.

Bahrain’s climatic conditions can reach an average minimum of 17.1℃ in December and an average maximum of 34.6℃ in August with scarce rainfall throughout the year adding up to an average of 8.1mm where some months (June-October) experience little to no rainfall (Table 1).

The Shamal (winds from the southeast moving in a northwesterly direction direction) are known to bring damp air over the lands between December and March. These months showcase higher average relative humid conditions compared to the remainder months fluctuating between an average of 72-65%. On some days, average relative humidity is known to reach over 90%.


Month
Average Temperature () Annual Rainfall (mm) Mean Daily Relative Humidity (%) Average Wind Speed (m/sec)
Jan 17.1 19.5 72 5.1
Feb 18.2 19.0 70 5.3
Mar 21.1 16.4 65 5.1
Apr 25.6 9.5 59 4.7
May 30.5 1.4 54 4.8
June 33.1 0.0 53 5.5
July 34.5 0.0 56 4.6
Aug 34.6 0.0 61 4.1
Sept 32.8 0.0 63 3.8
Oct 29.5 0.4 65 3.9
Nov 24.5 13.1 67 4.6
Dec 19.4 18.4 72 4.9
Min 17.1 0.0 53 3.8
Max 34.6 19.5 72 5.5
Avg. 26.7 8.1 63 4.7

Table 1 – Climatic Indicators for Bahrain, 1960 – 2017 (Source: Bahrain Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications, adapted from: Bahrain’s Third Communication Report)

The annual mean temperatures in Bahrain are represented below in Figure 1. The graph showcases an overall increase in Bahrain’s annual temperatures from, on average, 27.405°C in 2009 and 28.422°C in 2018. This showcases an average 1.017°C increase in mean temperatures from 2009 to 2018, not accounting for 2010. These figures were derived from Bahrain’s (IGA, 2022).

Figure 1 – Graph of the average annual temperature in Bahrain based on data recorded from 2009 – 2018, not accounting for 2010. Raw data was obtained from (IGA, 2022).

Adapted from Van Lavieren et al. (2011), Managing the growing impact of development on fragile coastal and marine ecosystems: Lesson from the Gulf. UNU-INWEH, Hamilton, ON, Canad.

Water Resources

A water-scarce country, Bahrain supplies water from three main sources: groundwater (the only natural freshwater source in Bahrain), desalination and treated wastewater.

The groundwater is obtained from the Dammam aquifer, a large transboundary groundwater system that extends from central Saudi Arabia to the Arabian Gulf waters, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Southern Qatar, UAE and Oman. This source of renewable freshwater can only supply 3 cubic meters per capita (Bahrain’s Third National Communication Report, 2020), which is also facing exhaustion due to the rising population and consequently increasing demand. 

There are two major zones within the Dammam aquifer in Bahrain namely: The upper “Alat” zone (15-20 meters thick) which has limited hydraulic properties and currently experiences high levels of salinization and the lower “Khobar” zone (40-49 meters thick) which is developed in highly fractured limestone and dolomites; this is where the majority of groundwater supply for Bahrain is derived from (Kadhem & Zubari, 2020)

Information Sources and References

  1. List of SIDS .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. (2022). Retrieved 29 April 2022, from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/sids/list
  2. Fifth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.cbd.int/doc/world/bh/bh-nr-05-en.pdf
  3. Information & eGovernment Authority (2022) Bahrain Open Data Portal.  [online] Available at: https://www.data.gov.bh/ [Accessed 29 April 2022].
  4. Bahrain’s Third National Communication Under the United Nations Framework for Climate Change. (2020). Retrieved from https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/9143680_Bahrain-NC3-2-SCE%20Third%20National%20Communication%202020.pdf
  5. Bahrain Voluntary National Review (2018). Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. [online] Available at: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/memberstates/bahrain [Accessed 29 April 2022].
  6. Kadhem, G., & Zubari, W. (2020). Identifying Optimal Locations for Artificial Groundwater Recharge by Rainfall in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Earth Systems And Environment, 4(3), 551-566. doi: 10.1007/s41748-020-00178-2