Stepnogorsk
Stepnogorsk Степногорск | |
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![]() ![]() Stepnogorsk Location in Kazakhstan | |
Coordinates: 52°20′59″N 71°53′24″E / 52.34972°N 71.89000°E | |
Country | Kazakhstan |
Region | Akmola Region |
Government | |
• Type | Mayor-council government |
• Mayor | Gaidar Kassenov[1] |
Population (2009)[2] | |
• Total | 46,712 |
Time zone | UTC+5 |
Stepnogorsk (Kazakh: Степногорск, romanized: Stepnogorsk; Russian: Степногорск) is a town in Akmola Region, Kazakhstan.
History
Stepnogorsk was established in 1959, and has been a town since 1964. It began as a closed town with code names Tselinograd-25 (Russian: Целиноград-25), Makinsk-2 (Russian: Макинск-2). The town is known as a nuclear and biochemical site,[3] which was known as the Stepnogorsk Scientific and Technical Institute for Microbiology.
Demographics
As of 2023, the town’s urban population was estimated at 48,343.[2] Historically, the 2009 census recorded 46,712 residents, and the 1999 census recorded 47,372.
Climate
Stepnogorsk has a sharply continental, arid climate. Spring is typically dry and windy, with large swings between high daytime temperatures and below-freezing nights. In summer, mostly cloudless and hot conditions prevail, caused by intense warming of the steppe. A stable snow cover usually forms by mid-November and remains for 130–150 days, with an average depth of around 20–22 cm. Temperatures can drop below −25 °C for 10–14 days each January, occasionally lasting up to 20 days during severe winters. The coldest winter on record was 1976–1977 (down to −44.4 °C with high winds), and the strongest winds—28–34 m/s—occurred in winter 1995. Spring sets in during the second half of March and lasts 1.5–2 months, with daily highs typically reaching 0 °C in early April. The hottest recorded summer occurred in August 2002, when temperatures reached +44 °C. An aurora borealis was observed on 14 and 16 March 1989. According to local meteorological data from 2012–2019 (GISMETEO), the average annual temperature is about +4.6 °C.
Climate data for Stepnogorsk (2012–2019, GISMETEO) | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 1 (34) | 5 (41) | 9 (48) | 27 (81) | 31 (88) | 33 (91) | 35 (95) | 36 (97) | 33 (91) | 23 (73) | 11 (52) | 1 (34) | 36 (97) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −2.9 (26.8) | −1.8 (28.8) | 4.3 (39.7) | 18.7 (65.7) | 25.2 (77.4) | 28.8 (83.8) | 29.2 (84.6) | 29.0 (84.2) | 23.9 (75.0) | 13.9 (57.0) | 3.8 (38.8) | −1.5 (29.3) | 14.2 (57.6) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | −14.8 (5.4) | −12.6 (9.3) | −4.3 (24.3) | 7.9 (46.2) | 15.7 (60.3) | 21.9 (71.4) | 21.0 (69.8) | 21.2 (70.2) | 13.9 (57.0) | 4.2 (39.6) | −5.7 (21.7) | −12.3 (9.9) | 4.6 (40.3) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −26.2 (−15.2) | −21.9 (−7.4) | −12.9 (8.8) | −3.1 (26.4) | 5.8 (42.4) | 13.0 (55.4) | 10.8 (51.4) | 11.4 (52.5) | 5.2 (41.4) | −6 (21) | −17.5 (0.5) | −27.4 (−17.3) | −5.8 (21.6) |
Record low °C (°F) | −38 (−36) | −33 (−27) | −20 (−4) | −8 (18) | 1 (34) | 8 (46) | 10 (50) | 7 (45) | 1 (34) | −13 (9) | −29 (−20) | −38 (−36) | −38 (−36) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 16.9 (0.67) | 13.8 (0.54) | 13.4 (0.53) | 19.7 (0.78) | 34.3 (1.35) | 42.2 (1.66) | 56.3 (2.22) | 42.8 (1.69) | 25.0 (0.98) | 29.5 (1.16) | 22.0 (0.87) | 16.6 (0.65) | 332.5 (13.09) |
Source: GISMETEO (2012–2019) |
References
- ^ "New akim of Stepnogorsk named". inform.kz. 2024-11-13. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
- ^ a b "Численность населения Республики Казахстан по отдельным этносам на начало 2023 года" (in Russian). Комитет по статистике Министерства национальной экономики Республики Казахстан. 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
- ^ Report includes interview with a microbiologist who "ran a huge bioweapons production plant in Stepnogorsk"
External links
