Priozersk, Kazakhstan

Priozersk (Kazakh: Prıozersk; Russian: Приозёрск, Priozyorsk) is a closed city at Lake Balkhash, Kazakhstan. It serves as the administrative center of Sary Shagan anti-ballistic missile testing site.

For the town in Leningrad Oblast see, see Priozersk.
Priozersk

Prıozersk
closed city
Priozersk
Location in Karagandy Province, Kazakhstan
Coordinates: 46°01′51″N 73°42′07″E
CountryKazakhstan
RegionKaraganda Region
Founded1956
Area
 • Total54.5 km2 (21.0 sq mi)
Population
 (2009)
 • Total13,479
 • Summer (DST)UTC+6 (UTC+6)
Postal code
101100
Area code(s)+7 71039

Priozersk is located in Karaganda Region (central Kazakhstan), approximately 620 kilometers to the south-east of the Karaganda and 747 kilometers from Astana. The Cambala Airport lies in the suburbs.

Population: 13,479 (2009 Census results);[1] 11,033 (1999 Census results).[1] By nationality, the city is 46% Russian, 39% Kazakh, 6% Ukrainian, and 9% other. The town is closed to visits by foreign citizens.

History
Central Square in Priozersk

Tens of thousands of workers and hundreds of missile experts and army officers arrived after the Soviet government decided to establish a secret military base in the Kazakh Steppe. This testing site for the soviet missile defense system was one of such centers, which had led to construction of anti-ballistic missiles and to attain parity in the arms race between the USSR and United States.

After the Soviet Union's collapse, the Russian Federation agreed with Kazakhstan to lease some military units for 50 years. The Russian Army continues to use the base at Priozersk as the testing site for improving anti-ballistic and anti-aircraft defense systems.

Climate

According to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system, the city of Priozersk has a steppe climate/cold semi-arid climate (BSk).

Climate data for Priozersk
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) −2
(28)		 0
(32)		 7
(45)		 16
(61)		 22
(72)		 26
(79)		 30
(86)		 29
(84)		 23
(73)		 16
(61)		 6
(43)		 1
(34)		 15
(58)
Daily mean °C (°F) −7
(19)		 −5
(23)		 2
(36)		 11
(52)		 17
(63)		 21
(70)		 24
(75)		 22.5
(72.5)		 17
(63)		 10
(50)		 1
(34)		 −4.5
(23.9)		 9.1
(48.4)
Average low °C (°F) −12
(10)		 −10
(14)		 −3
(27)		 5
(41)		 11
(52)		 15
(59)		 17
(63)		 16
(61)		 11
(52)		 4
(39)		 −4
(25)		 −10
(14)		 3
(38)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 26
(1.0)		 32
(1.3)		 64
(2.5)		 89
(3.5)		 99
(3.9)		 59
(2.3)		 35
(1.4)		 23
(0.9)		 25
(1.0)		 46
(1.8)		 48
(1.9)		 32
(1.3)		 578
(22.8)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 9 9 12 11 12 10 9 6 5 7 10 9 109
Average relative humidity (%) 74 74 73 59 55 51 45 44 45 55 70 74 60
Mean daily sunshine hours 3.7 4.2 4.5 6.5 7.8 9.4 10.2 9.5 8.3 6.4 4.3 3.6 6.5
Source: climatemps.com[2]

References
  1. "Население Республики Казахстан" (in Russian). Департамент социальной и демографической статистики. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  2. "Kazakhstan Climate, Average Weather, Temperatures, Rainfall, Sunshine, Humidity, Graphs". climatemps.com. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
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