Geography of Sudan#Extreme points

[[File:Political Regions of Sudan, July 2010.svg|thumb|right|

{{legend|#f7931d|North Sudan}}

{{legend|#8cc63f|Darfur}}

{{legend|#800080|Eastern Front, area of operations July 2006}}

{{legend|#FFFF00|Abyei}}

{{legend|#fb6282|South Kurdufan and Blue Nile}}

]]

Northern Sudan –lying between the Egyptian border and Sennar– has two distinct parts, the desert and the Nile Valley.{{citation-attribution|1={{Cite encyclopedia|last=Bechtold|first=Peter K.|title=Geographic regions|editor-last=Berry|editor1-first=LaVerle|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/cs/pdf/CS_Sudan.pdf|encyclopedia=Sudan: a country study|date=2015|publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress|isbn=978-0-8444-0750-0|edition=5th|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=63–66}}}} Though published in 2015, this work covers events in the whole of Sudan (including present-day South Sudan) until the 2011 secession of South Sudan. To the east of the Nile is the Nubian Desert and to the west, the Libyan Desert. Both are stony, with sandy dunes drifting over the landscape. There is virtually no rainfall in these deserts. Water in the Libyan desert is limited to a few small watering holes, such as Bir an Natrun, where the water table reaches the surface to form wells that provide water for nomads, caravans, and administrative patrols, although insufficient to support an oasis and inadequate to provide for a settled population. The Nubian Desert has no oases. Flowing through the desert is the Nile Valley, whose alluvial strip of habitable land is no more than two kilometers wide and whose productivity depends on the annual flood.

Image:Sudan desert of east sudan 01.jpg

Sudan's western front encompasses the regions known as Darfur and Kurdufan that comprise 850,000 square kilometers. Traditionally, this has been regarded as a single regional unit despite the physical differences. The dominant feature throughout this immense area is the absence of perennial streams; thus, people and animals must remain within reach of permanent wells. Consequently, the population is sparse and unevenly distributed. Western Darfur is an undulating plain dominated by the volcanic massif of Jabal Marrah towering 900 meters above the Sudanic plain; the drainage from Jabal Marrah onto the plain can support a settled population and a variety of wildlife (see East Saharan montane xeric woodlands). Western Darfur stands in contrast to northern and eastern Darfur, which are semi-deserts with little water either from the intermittent streams known as wadis or from wells that normally go dry during the winter months. Northwest of Darfur and continuing into Chad lies the unusual region called the jizzu, where sporadic winter rains generated from the Mediterranean frequently provide excellent grazing into January or even February. The southern region of western Sudan is known as the qoz, a land of sand dunes that in the rainy season is characterized by a rolling mantle of grass and has more reliable sources of water with its bore holes and hafri (sing., hafr) than does the north. A unique feature of western Sudan is the Nuba mountain range of southeast Kurdufan in the center of the country, a conglomerate of isolated dome-shaped, sugarloaf hills that ascend steeply and abruptly from the great Sudanic plain. Many hills are isolated and extend only a few square kilometers, but there are several large hill masses with internal valleys that cut through the mountains high above the plain.

Sudan's third distinct region is the central clay plains that stretch eastward from the Nuba Mountains to the Ethiopian border, broken only by the Ingessana Hills, and from Khartoum in the north to the far reaches of southern Sudan. Between the Dindar and the Rahad rivers, a low ridge slopes down from the Ethiopian highlands contrasting the neighboring plains as do the occasional hills. The central clay plains provide the backbone of Sudan's economy because of the large amounts of settlements which are there due to the available water. In the heartland of the central clay plains lies the jazirah, (literally in Arabic "peninsula") the land between the Blue Nile and the White Nile where the great Gezira Scheme was developed. This project grows cotton for export and has historically produced more than half of Sudan's revenue and export earnings.

Northeast of the central clay plains lies eastern Sudan, which is divided between desert and semi-desert and includes the Butana, the Qash Delta, the Red Sea Hills, and the coastal plain. The Butana is an undulating land between Khartoum and Kassala that provides good grazing for cattle, sheep, and goats. East of the Butana is a geological formation known as the Qash Delta. Originally a depression, it has been filled with sand and silt brought down by the flash floods of the Qash River, creating a delta above the surrounding plain. Extending 100 kilometers north of Kassala, the whole area watered by the Qash is a rich grassland with bountiful cultivation long after the river has spent its waters on the surface of its delta. Trees and bushes provide grazing for the camels from the north, and the rich moist soil provides an abundance of food crops and cotton.

Northward beyond the Qash lie the Red Sea Hills. Dry, bleak, and cooler than the surrounding land, particularly in the heat of the Sudanese summer, they stretch northward into Egypt, a jumbled mass of hills where life is hard and unpredictable for the Beja inhabitants. Below the hills sprawls the coastal plain of the Red Sea, varying in width from about fifty-six kilometers in the south near Tawkar to about twenty-four kilometers near the Egyptian border. The coastal plain is dry and barren. It consists of rocks, and the seaward side is thick with coral reefs.

Sudan has islands located in the Nile{{Cite web |last=Editor-in-chief |date=2022-05-05 |title=Kassinger Islands.. touch of magic |url=https://sudanscoop.com/sudan/kassinger-islands-touch-of-magic/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=Sudan Scoop |language=en-GB}} and other rivers, in lakes and reservoirs and in the Red Sea.

Tuti Island, Aba Island, Badien Island, Sai Island.

Mukawwar Island (Jazirat Magarsam), Jazirat Mayteb, Jazirat Bayer, Juzur Telat.

Talla Talla, Kebir Island, Taimashiya Island, Dar Ah Teras, Andi Seli, Masamarhu Island, Abu Isa Island, Dahrat ed Dak Hillat Island, Ed Dom esh Sheikh Island, Darrakah, Miyum, Zahrat Ghab, Jazirat Zahrat Abid, Gazirat Iri, Sayl Bahr, Gazirat Abid, Gazirat Wahman, Jaza'ir Amarat, Quban Island, Bakiyai Islands, Gazair Hayyis Wa Karai, Saqir Island, Sumar Island, Long Island, Gap Island, Two Islands.

Jazirat Maqanza, Jazirat Abu Ushar, Jazirat Muluwwa.

Gazerat Jene't.

Four small islands and several islets.

File:Northern Sudan states numbered.svg

{{Main|States of Sudan}}

Sudan is divided into 18 states and one area with special administrative status. The states of Sudan are:

{{div col|colwidth=10em}}

1. Khartoum
2. North Kordofan
3. Northern
4. Kassala
5. Blue Nile
6. North Darfur
7. South Darfur
8. South Kordofan
9. Gezira
10. White Nile
11. River Nile
12. Red Sea
13. Al Qadarif
14. Sennar
15. West Darfur
16. Central Darfur
17. East Darfur
18. West Kordofan (disestablished in 2005; reestablished in 2013){{Cite web|title=Western Kordofan State|url=http://www.sudan.gov.sd/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1779:western-kordofan-state&catid=43:2008-06-06-15-24-59&Itemid=71|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130812161155/http://www.sudan.gov.sd/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1779:western-kordofan-state&catid=43:2008-06-06-15-24-59&Itemid=71|archive-date=August 12, 2013}}{{Cite web|title=Sudan shuffles governors of Kordofan states including ICC suspect - Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article47269|website=www.sudantribune.com|date=October 2013 }}

{{div col end}}

As a result of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005, the Abyei Area was given special administrative status and following the independence of South Sudan in 2011, is considered to be simultaneously part of both the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan, effectively a condominium.

Image:Sudan agriculture Landsat.jpg

The country's soils can be divided geographically into a few groups, the sandy soils of the northern and west central areas, the clay soils of the central region, and the laterite soils of the south.{{citation-attribution|{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Bechtold|first=Peter K.|title=Soils|editor-last=Berry|editor1-first=LaVerle|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/cs/pdf/CS_Sudan.pdf|encyclopedia=Sudan: a country study|date=2015|publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress|isbn=978-0-8444-0750-0|edition=5th|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=66–67}}}} Though published in 2015, this work covers events in the whole of Sudan (including present-day South Sudan) until the 2011 secession of South Sudan. Less extensive and widely separated, but of major economic importance, is another group consisting of alluvial soils found along the lower reaches of the White Nile and Blue Nile, along the Nile to Lake Nubia, in the delta of the Qash River in the Kassala area, and in the Baraka Delta in the area of Tawkar near the Red Sea in Kassala State.

Agriculturally, the most important soils are the clays in central Sudan that extend from west of Kassala and southern Kurdufan. They are known as cracking soils because of the practice of allowing them to dry out and crack during the dry months to restore their permeability and are used in Al Jazirah and Khashm al Qirbah for irrigated cultivation. East of the Blue Nile, large areas are used for mechanized rainfed crops. West of the White Nile, these soils are used by traditional cultivators to grow sorghum, sesame, peanuts, and (in the area around the Nuba Mountains) cotton. The southern part of the clay soil zone lies in the broad floodplain of the upper reaches of the White Nile and its tributaries, covering most of Aali an Nil and upper Bahr al Ghazal in South Sudan. Subject to heavy rainfall during the rainy season, the floodplain proper is inundated for four to six months — a large swampy area, the Sudd in South Sudan, is permanently flooded — and adjacent areas are flooded for one or two months. In general this area is poorly suited to crop production, but the grasses it supports during dry periods are used for grazing.

The sandy soils in the semi-arid areas south of the desert in North Kurdufan and North Darfur support vegetation used for grazing. In the southern part of these states and the West Darfur and South Darfur are the so-called qoz sands. The qoz sands are the principal area from which gum arabic is obtained through tapping of Acacia senegal (known locally as hashab). This tree grows readily in the region, and cultivators occasionally plant hashab trees when land is returned to fallow. Though livestock raising is this area's major activity, a significant amount of crop cultivation, mainly of pearl millet, also occurs. Peanuts and sesame are grown as cash crops.

File:Nile Map Sudan.png{{See also|Water supply in Sudan}}

Except for a small area in northeastern Sudan, where wadis discharge the sporadic runoff into the Red Sea and rivers from Eritrea that flow into shallow evaporating ponds west of the Red Sea Hills, the entire country is drained by the Nile and its two main tributaries, the Blue Nile and the White Nile.{{citation-attribution|1={{Cite encyclopedia|last=Bechtold|first=Peter K.|title=Hydrology|editor-last=Berry|editor1-first=LaVerle|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/cs/pdf/CS_Sudan.pdf|encyclopedia=Sudan: a country study|date=2015|publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress|isbn=978-0-8444-0750-0|edition=5th|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=67–70}}}} Though published in 2015, this work covers events in the whole of Sudan (including present-day South Sudan) until the 2011 secession of South Sudan. The longest river in the world, the Nile flows for 6,737 kilometers from its farthest headwaters in Central Africa to the Mediterranean. The importance of the Nile has been recognized since biblical times; for centuries the river has been a lifeline for Sudan.

The Blue Nile flows out of the Ethiopian highlands to meet the White Nile at Khartoum. The Blue Nile is the smaller of the two rivers; its flow usually accounts for only one-sixth of the total. In August, however, the rains in the Ethiopian highlands swell the Blue Nile until it accounts for 90 percent of the Nile’s total flow. Sudan has constructed several dams to regulate the river’s flow, including the Roseires Dam, about 100 kilometers from the Ethiopian border and the largest, the 40-meter-high Sinnar Dam constructed in 1925 at Sinnar.{{Cite web|date=July 19, 2011 |title=Water infrastructure in the Nile Basin |url=http://www.fao.org/3/an529e/an529e.pdf |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization}} Metadata about the map is available [http://www.fao.org/geonetwork/srv/en/main.home?uuid=456f08d6-879f-4b8d-84d6-5dbc6648a36a here]. The Blue Nile’s two main tributaries, the Dindar and the Rahad, have headwaters in the Ethiopian highlands and discharge water into the Blue Nile only during the summer high-water season. For the remainder of the year, their flow is reduced to pools in sandy riverbeds.

The White Nile flows north from Central Africa, draining Lake Victoria and highland regions of Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. South of Khartoum, the British built the Jabal al-Awliya Dam in 1937 to store the water of the White Nile and then release it in the fall when the flow from the Blue Nile slackens. Much water from the reservoir has been diverted for irrigation projects in central Sudan and much of the remainder evaporates. By now, silt deposits have curtailed the overall flow.

North of Khartoum, the Nile flows through the desert in a large S-shaped pattern to empty into Lake Nasser behind the Aswan High Dam in Egypt. The river flows slowly beyond Khartoum, dropping little in elevation, although five cataracts hinder river transport at times of low water. The Atbarah River, flowing out of Ethiopia, is the only tributary north of Khartoum, and its waters only reach the Nile from July to December. During the rest of the year, the Atbarah’s bed is dry, except for a few pools and ponds.

File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_v2_SDN_1991–2020.svg map of Sudan.]]

File:Water_Stress,_Top_Countries_(2020).svg

Although Sudan lies within the tropics, the climate ranges from hyper-arid in the north to tropical wet-and-dry in the far southwest.{{citation-attribution|1={{Cite encyclopedia|last=Bechtold|first=Peter K.|title=Climate|editor-last=Berry|editor1-first=LaVerle|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/cs/pdf/CS_Sudan.pdf|encyclopedia=Sudan: a country study|date=2015|publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress|isbn=978-0-8444-0750-0|edition=5th|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=70–71}}}} Though published in 2015, this work covers events in the whole of Sudan (including present-day South Sudan) until the 2011 secession of South Sudan. Temperatures do not vary greatly with the season at any location; the most significant climatic variables are rainfall and the length of the wet and dry seasons. Variations in the length of the wet and dry seasons depend on which of two air flows predominates: dry northern winds from the Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula or moist southwesterly winds from the Congo River basin and southeasterly winds from the Indian Ocean.

From January to March, the country is under the influence of dry northeasterlies. There is minimal rainfall countrywide except for a small area in northwestern Sudan where the winds have passed over the Mediterranean bringing occasional light rains. By early April, the moist southwesterlies have reached southern Sudan, bringing heavy rains and thunderstorms. By July, the moist air has reached Khartoum, and in August it extends to its usual northern limits around Abu Hamad, sometimes the humid air reaches as far as the Egyptian border. The flow becomes weaker as it spreads north. In September the dry northeasterlies begin to strengthen and to push south and by the end of December they cover the entire country. Khartoum has a three-month rainy season (July–September) with an annual average rainfall of {{convert|161|mm|in|1|sp=us}}; Atbarah receives showers in August that produce an annual average of only {{convert|74|mm|in|sp=us}}.

In some years, the arrival of the southwesterlies and their rain in central Sudan can be delayed, or they may not come at all. When that happens, drought and famine follow. The decades of the 1970s and 1980s saw the southwesterlies frequently fail, with disastrous results for the Sudanese people and economy.

Temperatures are highest at the end of the dry season when cloudless skies and dry air allow them to soar. The far south, however, with only a short dry season, has uniformly high temperatures throughout the year. In Khartoum, the warmest months are May and June, when average highs are {{convert|41|°C|1}} and temperatures can reach {{convert|48|°C|1}}. Northern Sudan, with its short rainy season, has very high daytime temperatures year round, except for winter months in the northwest where there is some precipitation in January and February. Conditions in highland areas are generally cooler, and the hot daytime temperatures during the dry season throughout central and northern Sudan fall rapidly after sunset. Lows in Khartoum average {{convert|15|°C}} in January and have dropped as low as {{convert|6|°C|1}} after the passing of a cool front in winter.

The haboob, a violent dust storm, can occur in central Sudan when the moist southwesterly flow first arrives (May through July). The moist, unstable air forms thunderstorms in the heat of the afternoon. The initial downflow of air from an approaching storm produces a huge yellow/red wall of sand and clay that can temporarily reduce visibility to zero.

Desert regions in central and northern Sudan are among the driest and the sunniest places on Earth: the sunshine duration is always uninterrupted year-round and rise to above 4,000 hours or about 91% of the time with the sky being cloudless all the time.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}} Areas around Wadi Halfa and along the Egyptian border can easily pass many years or many decades without seeing any rainfall at all.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}} They are also among the hottest places during their summertime and their "wintertime": averages high temperatures routinely exceed 40 °C (104 °F) for four to nearly six months a year to reach a maximum peak of about 45 °C (113 °F) in some places and averages high temperature remain above 24 °C (75.2 °F) in the northernmost region and above 30 °C (86 °F) in places such as Atbara or Meroe.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}

{{Weather box

|width = auto

|location = Khartoum (1971–2000)

|metric first = y

|single line = y

|collapsed = y

|Jan record high C = 39.7

|Feb record high C = 42.5

|Mar record high C = 45.2

|Apr record high C = 46.2

|May record high C = 46.8

|Jun record high C = 46.3

|Jul record high C = 44.5

|Aug record high C = 43.5

|Sep record high C = 44.0

|Oct record high C = 43.0

|Nov record high C = 41.0

|Dec record high C = 39.0

|year record high C = 46.8

|Jan high C = 30.7

|Feb high C = 32.6

|Mar high C = 36.5

|Apr high C = 40.4

|May high C = 41.9

|Jun high C = 41.3

|Jul high C = 38.5

|Aug high C = 37.6

|Sep high C = 38.7

|Oct high C = 39.3

|Nov high C = 35.2

|Dec high C = 31.7

|year high C = 37.0

|Jan mean C = 23.2

|Feb mean C = 25.0

|Mar mean C = 28.7

|Apr mean C = 31.9

|May mean C = 34.5

|Jun mean C = 34.3

|Jul mean C = 32.1

|Aug mean C = 31.5

|Sep mean C = 32.5

|Oct mean C = 32.4

|Nov mean C = 28.1

|Dec mean C = 24.5

|year mean C = 29.9

|Jan low C = 15.6

|Feb low C = 16.8

|Mar low C = 20.3

|Apr low C = 24.1

|May low C = 27.3

|Jun low C = 27.6

|Jul low C = 26.2

|Aug low C = 25.6

|Sep low C = 26.3

|Oct low C = 25.9

|Nov low C = 21.0

|Dec low C = 17.0

|year low C = 22.8

|Jan record low C = 8.0

|Feb record low C = 8.6

|Mar record low C = 12.6

|Apr record low C = 12.7

|May record low C = 18.5

|Jun record low C = 20.2

|Jul record low C = 17.8

|Aug record low C = 18.0

|Sep record low C = 17.7

|Oct record low C = 17.5

|Nov record low C = 11.0

|Dec record low C = 6.2

|year record low C = 6.2

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 0.0

|Feb precipitation mm = 0.0

|Mar precipitation mm = 0.1

|Apr precipitation mm = 0.0

|May precipitation mm = 3.9

|Jun precipitation mm = 4.2

|Jul precipitation mm = 29.6

|Aug precipitation mm = 48.3

|Sep precipitation mm = 26.7

|Oct precipitation mm = 7.8

|Nov precipitation mm = 0.7

|Dec precipitation mm = 0.0

|year precipitation mm = 121.3

|unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 0.0

|Feb precipitation days = 0.0

|Mar precipitation days = 0.1

|Apr precipitation days = 0.0

|May precipitation days = 0.9

|Jun precipitation days = 0.9

|Jul precipitation days = 4.0

|Aug precipitation days = 4.2

|Sep precipitation days = 3.4

|Oct precipitation days = 1.2

|Nov precipitation days = 0.0

|Dec precipitation days = 0.0

|year precipitation days = 14.7

|Jan humidity = 27

|Feb humidity = 22

|Mar humidity = 17

|Apr humidity = 16

|May humidity = 19

|Jun humidity = 28

|Jul humidity = 43

|Aug humidity = 49

|Sep humidity = 40

|Oct humidity = 28

|Nov humidity = 27

|Dec humidity = 30

|year humidity = 29

|Jan sun = 316.2

|Feb sun = 296.6

|Mar sun = 316.2

|Apr sun = 318.0

|May sun = 310.0

|Jun sun = 279.0

|Jul sun = 269.7

|Aug sun = 272.8

|Sep sun = 273.0

|Oct sun = 306.9

|Nov sun = 303.0

|Dec sun = 319.3

|year sun =

|Jand sun = 10.2

|Febd sun = 10.5

|Mard sun = 10.2

|Aprd sun = 10.6

|Mayd sun = 10.0

|Jund sun = 9.3

|Juld sun = 8.7

|Augd sun = 8.8

|Sepd sun = 8.1

|Octd sun = 9.9

|Novd sun = 10.1

|Decd sun = 10.3

|yeard sun = 9.8

|source 1 = World Meteorological Organisation,{{cite web

| url = http://worldweather.wmo.int/085/c00249.htm

| title = World Weather Information Service – Khartoum

| access-date = 6 May 2010

| publisher = World Meteorological Organization}} NOAA (extremes and humidity 1961–1990){{Cite FTP | url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/SU/62721.TXT

| server = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| title = Khartoum Climate Normals 1961–1990

| access-date = 16 January 2014}}

|source 2 = Deutscher Wetterdienst (sun, 1961–1990){{cite web

| url = http://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_627210_kt.pdf

| title = Klimatafel von Khartoum / Sudan

| work = Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world

| publisher = Deutscher Wetterdienst

| language = de

| access-date = 22 October 2016

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170305012728/http://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_627210_kt.pdf

| archive-date = 5 March 2017

| url-status = dead

}}

|date=August 2010

}}

{{Weather box

|width = auto

|collapsed = yes

|location = Port Sudan, Sudan (1961–1990, extremes 1906–present)

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|Jan record high C = 37.0

|Feb record high C = 36.6

|Mar record high C = 40.0

|Apr record high C = 41.2

|May record high C = 47.0

|Jun record high C = 46.7

|Jul record high C = 48.0

|Aug record high C = 48.6

|Sep record high C = 46.1

|Oct record high C = 44.3

|Nov record high C = 39.0

|Dec record high C = 38.0

|year record high C = 48.6

|Jan high C = 26.8

|Feb high C = 27.0

|Mar high C = 28.8

|Apr high C = 31.4

|May high C = 35.0

|Jun high C = 38.5

|Jul high C = 40.1

|Aug high C = 40.2

|Sep high C = 37.4

|Oct high C = 33.4

|Nov high C = 30.8

|Dec high C = 28.8

|year high C = 33.2

|Jan mean C = 23.3

|Feb mean C = 23.0

|Mar mean C = 24.3

|Apr mean C = 26.5

|May mean C = 29.3

|Jun mean C = 32.2

|Jul mean C = 34.1

|Aug mean C = 34.5

|Sep mean C = 32.1

|Oct mean C = 29.3

|Nov mean C = 27.3

|Dec mean C = 24.7

|year mean C = 28.4

|Jan low C = 19.7

|Feb low C = 19.0

|Mar low C = 19.9

|Apr low C = 21.6

|May low C = 23.7

|Jun low C = 25.9

|Jul low C = 28.2

|Aug low C = 28.9

|Sep low C = 26.8

|Oct low C = 25.3

|Nov low C = 23.8

|Dec low C = 21.3

|year low C = 23.7

|Jan record low C = 10.0

|Feb record low C = 10.2

|Mar record low C = 10.0

|Apr record low C = 12.3

|May record low C = 17.4

|Jun record low C = 17.2

|Jul record low C = 20.0

|Aug record low C = 20.0

|Sep record low C = 18.9

|Oct record low C = 17.5

|Nov record low C = 17.5

|Dec record low C = 9.0

|year record low C = 9.0

|rain colour = green

|Jan rain mm = 7.2

|Feb rain mm = 0.9

|Mar rain mm = 0.9

|Apr rain mm = 0.2

|May rain mm = 1.1

|Jun rain mm = 0.2

|Jul rain mm = 3.8

|Aug rain mm = 1.4

|Sep rain mm = 0.0

|Oct rain mm = 13.9

|Nov rain mm = 35.0

|Dec rain mm = 10.0

|year rain mm = 76.1

|unit rain days = 0.1 mm

|Jan rain days = 1.2

|Feb rain days = 0.2

|Mar rain days = 0.2

|Apr rain days = 0.3

|May rain days = 0.3

|Jun rain days = 0.1

|Jul rain days = 0.8

|Aug rain days = 0.3

|Sep rain days = 0.0

|Oct rain days = 1.2

|Nov rain days = 4.1

|Dec rain days = 1.7

|year rain days = 10.4

|Jan humidity = 69

|Feb humidity = 70

|Mar humidity = 69

|Apr humidity = 65

|May humidity = 58

|Jun humidity = 50

|Jul humidity = 49

|Aug humidity = 50

|Sep humidity = 60

|Oct humidity = 72

|Nov humidity = 72

|Dec humidity = 71

|year humidity = 63

|Jan sun = 195.3

|Feb sun = 226.8

|Mar sun = 282.1

|Apr sun = 306.0

|May sun = 322.4

|Jun sun = 285.0

|Jul sun = 272.8

|Aug sun = 288.3

|Sep sun = 282.0

|Oct sun = 297.6

|Nov sun = 225.0

|Dec sun = 213.9

|year sun = 3197.2

|Jand sun = 6.3

|Febd sun = 8.1

|Mard sun = 9.1

|Aprd sun = 10.2

|Mayd sun = 10.4

|Jund sun = 9.5

|Juld sun = 8.8

|Augd sun = 9.3

|Sepd sun = 9.4

|Octd sun = 9.6

|Novd sun = 7.5

|Decd sun = 6.9

|yeard sun = 8.8

|Jan percentsun = 57

|Feb percentsun = 68

|Mar percentsun = 75

|Apr percentsun = 80

|May percentsun = 80

|Jun percentsun = 72

|Jul percentsun = 67

|Aug percentsun = 68

|Sep percentsun = 78

|Oct percentsun = 82

|Nov percentsun = 69

|Dec percentsun = 63

|year percentsun = 72

|source 1 = NOAA,{{Cite FTP | url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/RA-I/SU/62641.TXT

| server = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| title = Port Sudan Climate Normals 1961–1990

| access-date = January 24, 2015}} Hong Kong Observatory,{{cite web|url=http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/africa/sudan/port_sudan_e.htm|title=Climatological Information for Port Sudan, Sudan|publisher=Hong Kong Observatory|access-date=2015-10-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320235253/http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/africa/sudan/port_sudan_e.htm|archive-date=2012-03-20|url-status=dead}}

|source 2 = Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)

{{cite web

| url = http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=1841

| title = Station Port Soudan

| publisher = Meteo Climat

|language = fr

| access-date = 22 October 2016}}

|date=August 2010

}}

{{Weather box

| width = auto

| location = Al-Fashir (1961–1990 normals)

| single line = Yes

| metric first = Yes

| collapsed = Yes

| Jan record high C = 37.7

| Feb record high C = 40.1

| Mar record high C = 42.2

| Apr record high C = 43.0

| May record high C = 43.2

| Jun record high C = 42.5

| Jul record high C = 41.7

| Aug record high C = 39.7

| Sep record high C = 40.2

| Oct record high C = 39.8

| Nov record high C = 38.0

| Dec record high C = 36.5

| year record high C = 43.2

| Jan high C = 29.8

| Feb high C = 31.9

| Mar high C = 35.6

| Apr high C = 37.8

| May high C = 38.9

| Jun high C = 38.4

| Jul high C = 35.4

| Aug high C = 33.9

| Sep high C = 35.7

| Oct high C = 36.0

| Nov high C = 32.7

| Dec high C = 30.0

| year high C = 34.7

| Jan mean C = 19.7

| Feb mean C = 21.7

| Mar mean C = 25.5

| Apr mean C = 28.1

| May mean C = 30.1

| Jun mean C = 30.7

| Jul mean C = 28.9

| Aug mean C = 27.9

| Sep mean C = 28.5

| Oct mean C = 27.5

| Nov mean C = 23.0

| Dec mean C = 20.1

| year mean C = 26.0

| Jan low C = 9.5

| Feb low C = 11.4

| Mar low C = 15.5

| Apr low C = 18.3

| May low C = 21.3

| Jun low C = 23.0

| Jul low C = 22.5

| Aug low C = 21.8

| Sep low C = 21.2

| Oct low C = 18.9

| Nov low C = 13.6

| Dec low C = 10.3

| year low C = 17.3

| Jan record low C = 0.7

| Feb record low C = 1.4

| Mar record low C = 6.5

| Apr record low C = 8.2

| May record low C = 12.8

| Jun record low C = 15.7

| Jul record low C = 15.6

| Aug record low C = 13.5

| Sep record low C = 15.5

| Oct record low C = 7.1

| Nov record low C = 5.6

| Dec record low C = 2.0

| year record low C = 0.7

| rain colour = green

| Jan rain mm = 0.0

| Feb rain mm = 0.0

| Mar rain mm = 0.3

| Apr rain mm = 1.9

| May rain mm = 7.0

| Jun rain mm = 14.6

| Jul rain mm = 59.1

| Aug rain mm = 87.0

| Sep rain mm = 35.5

| Oct rain mm = 7.1

| Nov rain mm = 0.0

| Dec rain mm = 0.0

| Jan humidity = 24

| Feb humidity = 21

| Mar humidity = 18

| Apr humidity = 18

| May humidity = 22

| Jun humidity = 33

| Jul humidity = 52

| Aug humidity = 61

| Sep humidity = 46

| Oct humidity = 30

| Nov humidity = 27

| Dec humidity = 26

| year humidity = 31.5

| unit rain days = 0.1 mm

| Jan rain days = 0.0

| Feb rain days = 0.1

| Mar rain days = 0.1

| Apr rain days = 0.3

| May rain days = 1.3

| Jun rain days = 2.4

| Jul rain days = 8.3

| Aug rain days = 9.3

| Sep rain days = 4.5

| Oct rain days = 1.0

| Nov rain days = 0.0

| Dec rain days = 0.0

| Jan sun = 313.1

| Feb sun = 288.4

| Mar sun = 300.7

| Apr sun = 297.0

| May sun = 310.0

| Jun sun = 252.0

| Jul sun = 235.6

| Aug sun = 217.0

| Sep sun = 252.0

| Oct sun = 297.6

| Nov sun = 315.0

| Dec sun = 316.2

| year sun = 3394.6

| Jan percentsun = 89

| Feb percentsun = 88

| Mar percentsun = 81

| Apr percentsun = 80

| May percentsun = 73

| Jun percentsun = 68

| Jul percentsun = 59

| Aug percentsun = 62

| Sep percentsun = 70

| Oct percentsun = 82

| Nov percentsun = 91

| Dec percentsun = 90

| year percentsun = 78

| source 1 = NOAA{{cite web

| url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/RA-I/SU/62760.TXT

| title = El Fasher (Al-Fashir) Climate Normals 1961–1990

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220225054631/ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/RA-I/SU/62760.TXT

| archive-date = 2022-02-25

| url-status = dead

| access-date = 17 January 2016}}

| source 2 = Climate Charts{{cite web|title=El Fasher, Sudan: Climate, Global Warming, and Daylight Charts and Data|url=http://www.climate-charts.com/Locations/s/SU62760.php|publisher=Climate Charts|access-date=25 August 2013|archive-date=9 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109224013/http://climate-charts.com/Locations/s/SU62760.php|url-status=dead}}

| source =

}}

{{Weather box

|width=auto

|location = Atbara (1961–1990, extremes 1943–present)

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|collapsed = yes

|Jan record high C = 41.0

|Feb record high C = 42.0

|Mar record high C = 45.7

|Apr record high C = 47.1

|May record high C = 47.5

|Jun record high C = 47.7

|Jul record high C = 47.0

|Aug record high C = 47.0

|Sep record high C = 46.0

|Oct record high C = 44.5

|Nov record high C = 40.7

|Dec record high C = 39.2

|year record high C = 47.7

|Jan high C = 29.7

|Feb high C = 31.9

|Mar high C = 35.8

|Apr high C = 39.4

|May high C = 42.1

|Jun high C = 42.8

|Jul high C = 40.7

|Aug high C = 40.1

|Sep high C = 41.2

|Oct high C = 39.3

|Nov high C = 34.6

|Dec high C = 30.8

|year high C = 37.4

|Jan mean C = 22.1

|Feb mean C = 23.7

|Mar mean C = 27.5

|Apr mean C = 30.9

|May mean C = 34.1

|Jun mean C = 35.5

|Jul mean C = 34.0

|Aug mean C = 33.5

|Sep mean C = 34.3

|Oct mean C = 32.1

|Nov mean C = 27.4

|Dec mean C = 23.5

|year mean C = 29.9

|Jan low C = 14.4

|Feb low C = 15.4

|Mar low C = 19.1

|Apr low C = 22.3

|May low C = 26.1

|Jun low C = 28.2

|Jul low C = 27.3

|Aug low C = 26.9

|Sep low C = 27.3

|Oct low C = 25.0

|Nov low C = 20.2

|Dec low C = 16.1

|year low C = 22.4

|Jan record low C = 6.0

|Feb record low C = 5.5

|Mar record low C = 10.0

|Apr record low C = 14.1

|May record low C = 18.8

|Jun record low C = 21.0

|Jul record low C = 19.0

|Aug record low C = 19.5

|Sep record low C = 20.0

|Oct record low C = 16.4

|Nov record low C = 13.0

|Dec record low C = 6.5

|year record low C = 5.5

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 0.0

|Feb precipitation mm = 0.0

|Mar precipitation mm = 0.0

|Apr precipitation mm = 0.4

|May precipitation mm = 3.5

|Jun precipitation mm = 1.5

|Jul precipitation mm = 19.1

|Aug precipitation mm = 26.8

|Sep precipitation mm = 6.7

|Oct precipitation mm = 1.9

|Nov precipitation mm = 0.0

|Dec precipitation mm = 0.0

|year precipitation mm = 59.9

|unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 0.0

|Feb precipitation days = 0.0

|Mar precipitation days = 0.0

|Apr precipitation days = 0.2

|May precipitation days = 0.7

|Jun precipitation days = 0.4

|Jul precipitation days = 1.7

|Aug precipitation days = 2.8

|Sep precipitation days = 1.2

|Oct precipitation days = 0.3

|Nov precipitation days = 0.0

|Dec precipitation days = 0.0

|year precipitation days = 7.3

|Jan humidity = 36

|Feb humidity = 28

|Mar humidity = 22

|Apr humidity = 20

|May humidity = 20

|Jun humidity = 22

|Jul humidity = 32

|Aug humidity = 36

|Sep humidity = 30

|Oct humidity = 29

|Nov humidity = 35

|Dec humidity = 38

|year humidity = 29

|Jan sun = 300.7

|Feb sun = 282.8

|Mar sun = 319.3

|Apr sun = 324.0

|May sun = 319.3

|Jun sun = 267.0

|Jul sun = 269.7

|Aug sun = 266.6

|Sep sun = 276.0

|Oct sun = 313.1

|Nov sun = 312.0

|Dec sun = 294.5

|year sun = 3545.0

|Jan percentsun = 89

|Feb percentsun = 91

|Mar percentsun = 86

|Apr percentsun = 86

|May percentsun = 80

|Jun percentsun = 67

|Jul percentsun = 68

|Aug percentsun = 71

|Sep percentsun = 75

|Oct percentsun = 84

|Nov percentsun = 91

|Dec percentsun = 84

|year percentsun = 81

|source 1 = NOAA (averages, record highs for October and November, record lows for April, May, September through December){{Cite FTP | url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/SU/62680.TXT

| server = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| title = Atbara Climate Normals 1961–1990

| access-date = July 7, 2015}}

|source 2 = Meteo Climat (all other record highs and lows)

{{cite web

| url = http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=1844

| title = Station Atbara

| publisher = Meteo Climat

|language = fr

| access-date = 22 October 2016}}

}}

Sudan faces some severe environmental problems, most related either to the availability of water or its disposal. Among them are desertification, land degradation, and deforestation. Desertification, the southward shift of the boundary between desert and sem-idesert, has occurred at an estimated rate of 50 to 200 kilometers since records of rainfall and vegetation began in the 1930s. Its impact has been most notable in North Darfur and North Kordofan. Desertification is likely to continue its southward progression because of declining precipitation and will lead to continued loss of productive land. Agriculture, particularly poorly planned and managed mechanized agriculture, has led to land degradation, water pollution, and related problems. Land degradation has also resulted from an explosive growth in the size of livestock herds since the 1960s that have overused grazing areas. Deforestation has occurred at an alarming rate. Sudan as a whole might have lost nearly 12 percent of its forest cover between 1990 and 2005, or about 8.8 million hectares, a loss driven primarily by land clearance and energy needs.

Compounding Sudan’s environmental problems are long years of warfare and the resultant camps for large numbers of internally displaced people, who scour the surrounding land for water, fuel, and food. Experts from the United Nations predict that Sudan’s current program of dam construction on the Nile and its tributaries will cause riverbank erosion and loss of fertilizing silt. In urban areas, rapid and uncontrolled population influx into Khartoum and other cities and towns and the general lack of facilities to manage solid waste and sewage are among major environmental concerns.

Sudan has a land area of {{Convert|1,731,671|km2|mi2|abbr=|sp=us}} and a total area of {{Convert|1,861,484|km2|mi2|abbr=|sp=us}}.{{Cite web|title=Sudan|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/sudan/|access-date=2020-10-20|website=World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}} Approximately {{Convert|18,900|km2|mi2|abbr=|sp=us}} were irrigated as of 2012.

The length of Sudan's borders are {{Convert|6,819|km|mi|abbr=|sp=us}}. Border countries are the Central African Republic ({{convert|174|km|mi|abbr=on}}), Chad ({{convert|1403|km|mi|abbr=on}}), Egypt ({{convert|1276|km|mi|abbr=on}}), Eritrea ({{convert|682|km|mi|abbr=on}}), Ethiopia ({{convert|744|km|mi|abbr=on}}), Libya ({{convert|382|km|mi|abbr=on}}), and South Sudan ({{convert|2158|km|mi|abbr=on}}).

{{see also|Mining industry of Sudan}}

Petroleum is Sudan's most important natural resource. The country also has significant deposits of chromium, copper, iron, mica, silver, gold, tungsten, and zinc.

• Extreme points of Sudan

{{reflist}}

{{Sudan topics}}

{{Geography of Africa}}

{{Africa topic|Climate of}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geography Of Sudan}}