Relief

The relief of Kuwait is generally flat or gently undulating, broken only by occasional low hills and shallow depressions. The elevations range from sea level in the east to 951 feet (290 metres) at Al Shaqaya peak, in the western corner of the country. The Al Zawr Escarpment, one of the main topographic features, borders the north-western shore of Kuwait Bay and rises to a maximum height of 475 feet above sea level.

Elsewhere in coastal areas large patches of salty marshland have developed. Throughout the northern, western, and central sections of Kuwait there are desert basins, which fill with water after winter rains; historically these basins formed important watering places for the camel herds of the Bedouin.


Climate

The climate is desert, temperate somewhat in the coastal regions by the warm waters of the gulf. If there is enough rainfall, the desert turns green from the middle of March to the end of April. But during the dry season, between April and September, the heat is severe - the temperature ordinarily reaching 44 C (111 F) during the day and on occasion going as high as 54 C (130 F). The winter is more agreeable (even frost can occasionally occur in the interior, though never on the sea coast). Annual rainfall averages only from 1 to 7 inches (25 to 180 millimetres), chiefly between October and April, though cloudbursts can bring more than two inches of rain in a day. On 11th November 1997, heavy rainfall alongwith hail stones literally sunk Kuwait.

The frequent winds from the northwest are cool in winter and spring and hot in summer. Southeasterly winds, usually hot and damp, spring up between July and October; hot and dry south winds prevail in spring and early summer. The shamal, a northwesterly wind, causes dramatic sandstorms.