Yemeni Geography

The Republic of Yemen comprises the former territories of Democratic Yemen (south) and Arab (north). It is bordered by the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Red Sea. Therefore its location corresponds to the Asian Continent (Asia and not Africa despite its proximity)

Its area is 527,970 km. squares. The terrain is mostly desert, the climate hot and humid along the coast, temperate in the mountains to the west, and extraordinarily hot and dry in the eastern desert.

To the north, it is the most fertile territory of the entire Arabian peninsula, which is why it was called in the past, together with the Hadhramaut valley, the "Happy Arabia".

Relief

Topography of Yemen

Coast of the Red Sea near Khaukha, in the coastal plain of Tihama.

Wadi Dhar, near the city of Sana`a

Old stone bridge near Shaharah, in the western mountains.

Yemen occupies the southern tip of the Arabian Plate. The mountainous inland country is surrounded by a narrow coastal plain on the west, south, and east, and by a higher-altitude desert on the northern border with Saudi Arabia. The Tihama coastal plain, 420 km long, extends along the entire western coast of the Arabian Peninsula along the Red Sea. It is part of the ecoregion called the Arabian Peninsula Cloudy Coastal Desert, which covers much of the south coast of Yemen as well.

The interior mountains can be divided into western and central, separated by the Ramlat al-Sab'atayn desert, which is part of the Rub al-Jali desert, in the north and by a narrowing between the city of Ataq and the sea, in the south. In the western mountains, closest to the Red Sea, the land is more fertile and humid. Some peaks stand out, such as the Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb, 3,666 m. The best-known crops in this region are sorghum and coffee, and tropical fruits such as bananas and mangoes. The central mountains are more like a plateau, since the elevations range between 2,000 and 3,200 m, with rounded hills and some slightly higher peaks. The rains are scarcer, but sufficient in summer for the crops.

The inland highlands are crossed by wadis, valleys that are dry in winter. There is no permanent watercourse in Yemen. The wadi Hadramaut stands out, which cuts the eastern mountains from east to west. It flows into the desert of Ramlat al-Sab'atayn and is inhabited in its upper parts, where summer rains allow crops. Diurnal temperature swings here hover around 30.oC and are among the highest in the world.

The eastern region, Al Mahrah Governorate, comprises a 1,000 m high range that breaks away from the central mountains, giving way to several wadis that run towards the sea, such as Dhahawn, which empties into Al Ghayda and finally it follows the coast to the border with Oman, causing all the wadis to run north through a wide desert region that empties into the Rub al-Khali desert.

Climate

Map of Koppen-Geiger climates of Yemen. The red is arid, desert and warm, and the pumpkin is arid, stool and cold.

Temperatures are generally very high in Yemen, especially in the coastal regions. The rains, scarce, vary according to the altitude. The highlands enjoy better temperatures, with averages of 21.oC in summer and cool winters where it can get freezing.

The desert-like Red Sea coast is warm year-round, with highs of 28 to 30. oC in winter and 38 to 40.oC in summer. In Al Hudaydah, it falls 80 mm a year, with summer mists due to the southwest monsoons. The Red Sea islands of Hanish, Kamaran, and Perim are desert-like, hot in winter and sweltering in summer.

The coast of the Gulf of Aden has a similar climate, although the southwest monsoon cools the northeastern coastal areas somewhat. In Al Mukalla, in the center, 59 mm of rain falls on 9 days a year, with maximums in March and April and temperatures of 19-27.oC in winter and 26-34.oC in June.

The western mountains receive rainfall from the southwest monsoon due to the barrier effect of altitude, with 760mm in Taiz, and it can even snow in winter. On the other side, as is the case in Sana, at 2,200 m, protected from the humid winds by the peak of Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb, only 240 mm falls, almost always between July and September, with some rain in April and May. Due to its altitude, temperatures drop a lot, between 10 and 21.oC in December and between 20 and 28.oC in July.

The central and eastern region, occupied by a coastal mountain range that descends inland and east from 1,000 to 400 m altitude, is a desert area with some moisture due to retaining clouds at the extreme east of the coast and mists in the monsoon season. In the center and north, the southern part of the Rub al-Jali sandy desert is very dry and hot.

The island of Socotra has a tropical desert climate, with temperatures between 18-28.o C in winter and 25-33.oC in summer. Mount Haggeher, which rises to 1,500 m, has xerophytic vegetation thanks to the abundant humidity of the mists associated with the monsoons. In general, it rains little and it is windy, about 235 mm in 52 days, spread out because in winter it is affected by the northeast monsoon as well. Rarely, the island is affected by tropical cyclones, such as Cyclones Megh and Chapala in 2015, formed in Oman, which caused extensive damage.

Yemen's Protected Areas

With the limitations imposed by the ongoing conflict in Yemen, the country has, as of June 2018, 10 protected areas, of which at least two need to be reassessed. They occupy a total of about 3,520 km², 0.77% of the territory, and 2,562 km² of marine areas, 0.47% of the total marine area that belongs to the country, about 548,000 km². The set includes:

• Jabal Bura National Park, 3 km2, on the western side of the granite mountain of Jabal Bura (2,271 m, 14°55'N-43°25'E), on the western coast, about 50 km from Al Hudayda. The area, a tropical forest rest of the primitive forest that disappeared thousands of years ago, is populated with acacias and a tree of the mirra, among other species, such as Adenium obesum or winter rose. There are hyenas and baboons.

• Protected area of the Community of Bura, includes a reserve of the Biosphere of the Unesco, of 6,48 km2, on the eastern side of the mountain of Jabal Bura, in Bura, east of Bajil. The western side of the mountain is covered with a dense tropical vegetation, while the eastern face is covered by numerous villages and cultivated terraces that reach the top of the mountain. In the lower areas of a slope with two thousand meters of unevenness the banana is cultivated; at medium height, coffee, and, at the top, hard wheat. While the west is listed as a site of natural interest, the east is a cultural site.

• The Ras Isa Marine Park and Kamaran Island are proposed as an area protected by the PERSGA (Regional organization of the Conservation of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden). It is located north of Al Hudaydah, in the Red Sea region of Yemen. Coral reefs with various associated marine fauna. The two types of mangroves in the region are widely represented in Kamaran: Marine and Rizophora mucronata (red mangrove). In Ras Isa there is an oil terminal with tanks of 100,000 tonnes that make the area pervert.

• Zuqar Island Marine National Park. Zuqar Island is part of the Hanish archipelago, located in the Red Sea, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which communicates with the Gulf of Aden. They are volcanic islands on whose marine platform coral reefs grow. Once the platform is finished, the depth increases from 200 to 1000 m.

• Traditional Mahjur Reserve of Dhamar Rims (Dhamar Montane Plains Mahjur Traditional Reserve)

• Protected area of the island of Socotra, 3,625 km2. Of the 825 plant species on the island, 37% are endemic, in addition to 95% of reptiles and 95% of snakes. There are 192 species of birds, of which 44 nest on the island and 85 are migrants.

• Reserva de la biosfera de la Unesco del archipelago de Socotra, 26,816 km2. It comprises an area only on the islands of 4,104 km2 which is a World Heritage Site. The archipelago is 250 km long and comprises four islands and two rocky islets as an extension of the Horn of Africa. There are 235 coral species on the reefs, 730 species of fish and 300 species of crabs, lobsters and lobsters.

• Ramsar Site of the Detwah Lagoon, on Socotra Island, 580 ha (12°42’20”N 53°30’24”E). Coastal lagoon in the northwest of the island, open to the tides and surrounded by dunes and a 400 m high cliff. The only place on the island where is the reticulated whip pastinaca and the reef strip. There are 32 species of marine birds and nest the common alimoche and the cormorant of Socotora. Endemic flora includes Croton socotranus and Jatropha unicostata.

BirdLife International recognizes 60 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Yemen, covering 9,563 km², with a total of 342 bird species, of which 18 are threatened. There are also two Important areas for endemic birds: Socotra and the Southwestern Mountains that encompass part of Saudi Arabia and Yemen, covering an area of 150,000 km² between 1,200 and 3,600 m altitude.

Ethnic groups of Yemen

Ethnic map of Yemen

According to World Population, in Yemen there were, in 2019, 29,388,000 inhabitants, with a density of 53.5 inhab/km². The urban population was 35.2%, with a peak in the capital Sana'a of 3,937,000. Cities like Taiz, Al Hudaydah and Aden have around 500,000 inhabitants. Most of the Yemenis are of Arab origin; however, it is a strongly tribal society, with about 400 Zaydin or Zaydi tribes in the north and hereditary caste groups in urban areas, mostly akhdam (servants), confined to the slums of large cities. From 10,000 to 30,000 Turks live in Yemen as a result of Ottoman colonization, and a large community of Yemeni Jews. There are also people from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore of Arab descent.