Surkhandarya Region is the southernmost region of Uzbekistan, and it is in the south that the absolute maximum air temperature in the country reaches 48–50 °C (Third National Communication under the UNFCCC). Termez is the country’s main southern gateway and one of the key railway hubs of the south, with a river port and a border crossing; the region has small mining and metallurgical enterprises, oil and gas production, treatment and transport facilities, and building materials plants, and there are coal deposits. For protective coatings heat is not a background but the main design factor: it determines the choice of topcoat, the application time, the behaviour of grouts and the storage conditions for materials.
Heat as a design factor
Summer here is long, dry and scorching, with very low humidity and almost no rain. According to Uzhydromet’s long-term data, the Termez area has more days with heat of 40 °C and above than anywhere else in the country. Summer winds, especially south-westerly ones, raise huge masses of dust (UNEP report, 2025), and the Ministry of Ecology, in its study of the air in Termez, separately examines the influence of the “Afghan wind” and of sand and dust storms. The Termez weather station leads the country in the number of days with sand and dust storms, and it is in Surkhandarya that the share of long storms lasting more than 12 hours is highest (Rakhmatova et al., 2025). Winters are milder than in the north, but frosts do occur: in January 2008 Termez saw −19.7 °C. What follows from this in practice:
- The application window. Steel in the sun heats up far more than the air and quickly exceeds the upper surface temperature limit in the technical data sheet. In summer, painting is done early in the morning and in the evening, under a canopy, with the steel temperature measured before each coat.
- Pot life and thinners. Two-component epoxies and polyurethanes have a noticeably shorter pot life in the heat: the mix is prepared in small batches, and slow thinners from the manufacturer’s list are used.
- Ultraviolet. Epoxy coats in open sunlight chalk and lose thickness, so the top layer is an aliphatic polyurethane or polysiloxane. Colour matters too: dark coatings heat up more than light ones.
- Fire protection in the heat. Thin-film intumescent paints like neither an overheated substrate nor drying that is too fast: cracking and blistering are possible. They are applied within the permissible temperature window, in thin passes, and for external structures, systems designed for atmospheric exposure are chosen — see the overview on the intumescent paints page.
Corrosivity, however, is not necessarily high: long dry periods reduce it, while dust, condensation on cold nights and industrial emissions increase it. For exposed steel the usual guide is C3–C4, with the category checked on site to ISO 9223 and ISO 12944-2.
Warehouses, terminals and transport infrastructure
Transit and cross-border cargo passes through Termez, and it needs warehouses, transhipment terminals, hangars and production bases with steel frames. For them, three tasks are usually addressed:
- fire protection of warehouse frames — the fire resistance ratings are determined by the design to the codes of Uzbekistan based on the warehouse’s fire hazard category and the building’s degree of fire resistance; for long-span trusses thin-film paints are convenient, and for columns in forklift zones, more impact-resistant non-reactive solutions;
- corrosion protection of cranes, trestles, ramps and canopies — systems with a zinc-rich primer and a weather-resistant topcoat;
- grouting of crane rails and supports — on open sites crane rail tracks are grouted with products that can be poured in hot weather and withstand the impact loads of the wheels; for details, see the crane rails page. Termez is assigned to the intensity 7–8 zone on the MSK-64 scale, and most districts of the region to intensity 8 (Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 727 of 17.11.2025), and the fixing of crane and warehouse equipment is designed with this in mind.
Oil and gas production and treatment facilities add fire protection to the hydrocarbon curve and protection of pipelines, and mining and coal enterprises add grouts under crushers, screens and conveyor drives.
Agro-processing, building materials, utilities
The warm climate allows three or four harvests a year on household plots in the region, and processing of agricultural produce is a notable industry here. Processing workshops, cold stores and grain elevators need fire protection of the frame and cable runs, internal corrosion protection where it is humid, and epoxy grout under separators, presses and pumps. At building materials plants, dust and heating of equipment are added. Drinking and process water tanks are protected with tank coatings with confirmed suitability for the specific medium.
Delivery to Termez and the districts of the region
We deliver materials to Termez, Denau and other towns in the region. In summer we give separate thought to storage: materials in a hot warehouse lose their properties faster, so they are kept in the shade and cool, and we size the batch so that it does not sit on site for months. We prepare protection schemes, specifications and calculations remotely; at the start of work we can organise a trial area and a briefing for the applicators.
The gas industry and power generation of the neighbouring region are described on the Kashkadarya Region page; the full list is on the “Regions of Uzbekistan” page.
Questions from the south
At what time of day should steel be painted in summer?
When the surface temperature is within the limits of the technical data sheet and above the dew point with the necessary margin — usually early in the morning and towards evening. What decides is not the time on the clock but a measurement of the surface with a contact thermometer.
Which topcoat best withstands the southern sun?
Aliphatic polyurethanes and polysiloxanes: they retain colour and gloss longer than epoxies. Light shades additionally reduce heating of the structure.
Can equipment be grouted in extreme heat?
Yes, if the material and the procedure allow it: cooled components, a shaded substrate, pouring in the cool hours, and observing the maximum layer thickness for epoxy products.
A project in Surkhandarya Region — a warehouse, terminal, workshop or tank? Describe it and we will select a system that takes the southern climate into account. Call +998 94 094 52 27 or message that number on WhatsApp or Telegram; send steelwork schedules and drawings to info@ognezashita.uz.