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Desert climate
Locations of deserts. Outside of the polar regions, deserts typically feature arid climates.
Under the Koppen climate classification, a Desert climate (BWh, BWk), also known as an arid climate, is a climate where temperatures are moderate and rainfall is too low to sustain any vegetation at all, or at best a very scanty scrub. Areas featuring this climate are usually deserts. An area that features this climate experiences less than 250 mm (10 inches) per year of rainfall and in some years may experience no precipitation at all. There are typically two variations of a desert climate; a hot desert climate (BWh) and a cold desert climate (BWk). Hot desert climatesHot desert climates are typically found in the subtropics where there is unbroken sunshine for the whole year due to the stable descending air and high pressure. Such areas include the Sahara, Saudi Arabia, large parts of Iran and Iraq, northwest India, southwestern United States, South Africa and much of Australia. Here, maximum temperatures of 40 to 45°C are common, although during colder periods of the year, night-time temperatures can drop to freezing or below due to the exceptional radiation loss under the clear skies. However, very rarely do temperatures drop far below freezing in areas featuring a hot desert climate. Notable cities with a hot desert climate |
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