Islam Qala

Islam Qala
Islam Qala
	A road in Islam Qala, Afghanistan
	Islam Qala Location in Afghanistan
	Coordinates: 34°40′00″N 61°04′00″E / 34.66667°N 61.06667°E
Country	Afghanistan
Province	Herat Province
District	Islam Qala District
Elevation	2,398 ft (731 m)
Population
• Total	16,408
Time zone	UTC+4:30

Islām Qala (Pashto: اسلام کلا, Dari: اسلام قلعه) is a border town in the western Herat province of Afghanistan, near the Afghanistan–Iran border. It is the official port of entry by land from neighboring Taybad in Iran. The Dowqarun-Islam Qala border crossing is located about 10 km (6.2 mi) northwest of the town.^[1]

Islam Qala is administered as part of Islam Qala District of Herat Province and is linked to the city of Herat via the Islam Qala-Herat Highway.^[2] The town plays an important role when it comes to the economy of Afghanistan because a substantial volume of national trade passes through it.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Islam Qala is believed to have a population of about 16,408 residents.^[6] It has gradually expanded in the last two decades due to the establishment of various facilities. Among them is a refugees repatriation center in which large number of returnees are processed everyday by the Ministry of Refugees and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).^[7]^[8] The town has Afghan Border Police and other national security forces.^[9]

History

Islam Qala became a border town during the Durrani Empire in the 19th century, after Afghanistan became a sovereign state. Many armies, traders and travelers have passed through the town throughout history. The Asian Highway 1 (AH1), which is part of the Asian Highway Network from Tokyo in Japan to west of Istanbul in Turkey,^[10] where it connects to the European route E80 (E80) that reaches to Lisbon, passes in Islam Qala.

On February 13, 2021, due to corruption and negligence,^[11] large number of trucks were burnt by a fire incident at a parking area in Islam Qala.^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16] On July 9, 2021, the entire town fell to the Taliban forces without incident. Since then the corruption in the town has been eliminated and government revenue increased to over 8 billion afghanis in less than a year.^[5]

Climate

With an influence from the local steppe climate, Islam Qala features a cold semi-arid climate (BSk) under the Köppen climate classification. The average temperature in Islam Qala is 17.3 °C, while the annual precipitation averages 225 mm.

July is the hottest month of the year with an average temperature of 29.5 °C. The coldest month January has an average temperature of 5.5 °C.

Climate data for Islam Qala
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	11.9 (53.4)	14.4 (57.9)	19.0 (66.2)	23.9 (75.0)	30.5 (86.9)	35.9 (96.6)	37.3 (99.1)	36.4 (97.5)	32.2 (90.0)	26.6 (79.9)	18.8 (65.8)	13.5 (56.3)	25.0 (77.1)
Daily mean °C (°F)	5.5 (41.9)	7.6 (45.7)	12.1 (53.8)	16.5 (61.7)	22.2 (72.0)	27.4 (81.3)	29.5 (85.1)	28.2 (82.8)	23.5 (74.3)	17.6 (63.7)	10.7 (51.3)	6.6 (43.9)	17.3 (63.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−0.9 (30.4)	1.2 (34.2)	5.2 (41.4)	9.2 (48.6)	14.0 (57.2)	19.0 (66.2)	21.8 (71.2)	20.1 (68.2)	14.6 (58.3)	8.6 (47.5)	2.7 (36.9)	−0.3 (31.5)	9.6 (49.3)
Source: Climate-Data.org^[17]