Historical names
The settlement was called Tugalang between 1882–1934 and Kaganovichabad between 1934 and 1957. The name Kolkhozabad (Russian version) or Kolkhozobod (Tajik version) was in use until 1991, when the town was renamed ''imeni Isoeva'', literally "a settlement named after Sirodjiddin Isoev", who had headed the district for more than 28 years during the Soviet era and had been awarded a Hero of Socialist Labor. The name Kolkhozobod has been subsequently restored and the district capital was listed again as Kolkhozobod (or Kolkhozabad) in official publications. In February 2017, it was officially renamed ''Balkh''. A location with the same name (Kolkhozabad) exists also in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province, in the eastern part of Tajikistan.Geography
Climate
Balkh has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification ''BSk''). The average annual temperature is . The warmest month is July with an average temperature of and the coolest month is January with an average temperature of 3.1 °C (37.6 °F). The average annual precipitation is 279.4 mm (11") and has an average of 70 days with precipitation. The wettest month is March with an average of 67.1 mm (2.6") of precipitation and the driest month is August with an average of 0.1 mm of precipitation.References
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