Az Zubayr

This article is about the city in Iraq. For other uses, see Al-Zubayr (disambiguation) and Zubayr (disambiguation).

Az Zubayr (Arabic: الزبير) is a city in and the capital of Al-Zubayr District, part of the Basra Governorate of Iraq. The city is just south of Basra.

Az Zubayr الزبير
City
Az Zubayr
Coordinates: 30°23′N 47°42′E
Country	Iraq
Governorate	Basra
District	Al-Zubayr
Population  (2014)	370,000
• Estimate  (2018)[1]	300,751
Time zone	3+
Area code	01

The name is also sometimes written Al Zubayr, Al Zubair, Az Zubair, Zubair, Zoubair, El Zubair, or Zobier.

History of Zubayr

Early history

ca. 1942 street scene in Az Zubayr

The city was named al-Zubayr because one of the Sahaba (companions) of Muhammad, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, was buried there.^{[citation needed]}

21st century

By 2008, the city of Zubayr had a population of around 240,000 people and had grown to merge into the Basra metropolitan area with nearly 3 million inhabitants in total. As in Basra, the municipality of Zubayr currently has a Shia majority and is barely distinguishable from Basra itself. But, contrary to Basra, Zubair is still home to a large Sunni minority and they are still living peacefully and in coexistence with the majority Shia Muslim population.^[2]

Climate

Az Zubayr has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh). In winter there is more rainfall than in summer. The average annual temperature in Az Zubayr is 24.5 °C (76.1 °F). About 139 mm (5.47 in) of precipitation falls annually.

Climate data for Az Zubayr
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	17.5 (63.5)	19.9 (67.8)	24.8 (76.6)	31.1 (88.0)	37.2 (99.0)	40.9 (105.6)	43.1 (109.6)	43.6 (110.5)	41.0 (105.8)	35.4 (95.7)	26.7 (80.1)	19.4 (66.9)	31.7 (89.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	6.5 (43.7)	8.0 (46.4)	12.2 (54.0)	17.0 (62.6)	23.1 (73.6)	25.7 (78.3)	27.6 (81.7)	26.5 (79.7)	22.7 (72.9)	18.2 (64.8)	13.2 (55.8)	8.1 (46.6)	17.4 (63.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	26 (1.0)	18 (0.7)	17 (0.7)	15 (0.6)	6 (0.2)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	2 (0.1)	22 (0.9)	33 (1.3)	139 (5.5)
Source: Climate-Data.org, Climate data