Upon independence most of the old local boundaries, long understood if not always precisely defined, were retained, and the areas became prefectures. Before World War II there were ten prefectures, which in turn were divided into about forty subprefectures. The Communist regime did not abandon the prefectures immediately but eventually replaced them with districts that were, generally, based on the old subprefectures. In a series of changes, the latest of which were made in December 1967, the districts were consolidated into the twenty-six that existed in 1970. The districts are much the same size. Sixteen of them have areas ranging between 300 and 600 square miles. The largest, Shkoder, has about 980 square miles; the smallest, Lezhe, has about 180.
Changes in the areas and boundaries of the districts made during the 1960s were based chiefly on economic considerations, although political and security considerations also played a part. A major factor has been the collectivization of agriculture. In 1968 and 1969, for example, when the government decided to enlarge the collective farms, district lines were shifted in order to keep all of the land in a collective within the same district (see ch. 6, Government Structure and Political System).
Source: Adapted from Vjetari Statistikor i R. P. Sh., 1967-1968, Tirana, 1968, frontispiece.
Figure 3. Administrative Districts in Albania
Although there are natural barriers to almost all movement in the country, there are few, if any, that contribute to the boundaries of the districts. Eight districts border on the seashore, but only three of them have more lowland than mountainous terrain. The Shkoder District, for example, has all of the lowlands in the vicinity of the city and almost half of the most mountainous portion of the North Albanian Alps. In a few instances the borders of interior districts follow the river valleys, but it is more usual for them to contain segments of the rivers and, when this is the case, their boundary lines stay in the higher regions.
CLIMATE
With its coastline oriented westward onto the Adriatic and Ionian seas, its highlands backed upon the elevated Balkan landmass, and the entire country lying at a latitude that receives different patterns of weather systems during the winter and summer seasons, Albania has a number of climatic regions highly unusual for so small an area. The coastal lowlands have typically Mediterranean weather; the highlands have a so-called Mediterranean continental climate. Both the lowland and interior weather change markedly from north to south.
The lowlands have mild winters, averaging about 45°F. Summer temperatures average 75°F., humidity is high, and the season tends to be oppressively uncomfortable. The southern lowlands are warmer, averaging about five degrees higher throughout the year. The difference is greater than five degrees during the summer and somewhat less during the winter.
Inland temperatures vary more widely with differences in elevation than with latitude or any other factor. Cold winter temperatures in the mountains result from the continental air masses that predominate over Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Northerly and northeasterly winds blow much of the time. Average summer temperatures are lower than in the coastal areas and much lower at high elevations, but daily fluctuations are greater. Daytime maximum temperatures in the interior basins and river valleys are very high, but the nights are almost always cool (see table 1).
The average precipitation over the country is high resulting from the convergence of the prevailing airflow from the Mediterranean with the continental air mass. They usually meet at the point where the terrain rises. Arriving at that line, the Mediterranean air meets increasing ground elevations that force it to rise and an air mass that tends to resist its further progress. This causes the heaviest rainfall in the central uplands. Vertical currents initiated when the Mediterranean air is uplifted also result in frequent thunderstorms. Many of them in this area are violent and are accompanied by high local winds and torrential downpours.
Table 1. Temperature and Precipitation Averages for Selected Locations in Albania
| Average Temperatures* | Annual | |||||
| Elevation | Coldest | Warmest | precipitation | |||
| Place | Location | (in feet) | Annual | month | month | (in inches) |
| Shkoder | Northern coastal lowlands | 50 | 59 | 40 | 78 | 80 |
| Durres | Central coastal lowlands | Sea level | 61 | 47 | 77 | 38 |
| Vlore | Southern coastal lowlands | Sea level | 62 | 48 | 77 | 39 |
| Sarande | Albanian Riviera | Sea level | 63 | — | — | 55 |
| Tirana | Mid-Albania at base of central uplands | 360 | 58 | 42 | 76 | 49 |
| Puke | North-central uplands | 2,850 | 51 | 34 | 70 | 72 |
| Kruje | Central uplands | 2,000 | 55 | 39 | 71 | 67 |
| Korce | Eastern highlands | 2,850 | 51 | — | — | 30 |
| * In degrees Fahrenheit. | ||||||
| Source: Adapted from Vjetari Statistikor i R. P. Sh., 1967-1968. Tirana, , pp. 18-19; and Great Britain, Admiralty, Naval Intelligence Division, Albania, London, 1945, p. 93. | ||||||
When the continental system is weak, Mediterranean winds drop their moisture farther inland. When there is a dominant continental air mass, it spills cold air onto the lowland areas. This occurs most frequently in the winter season. Since the season's lower temperatures damage olive trees and citrus fruits, their groves and orchards are restricted to sheltered