desert climate
Quick Summary
A desert climate is characterized by a severe lack of available moisture for plants, resulting from an imbalance between precipitation and evapotranspiration. This aridity is often exacerbated by low humidity, high temperatures, and wind. Most deserts are located in subtropical regions, typically between 15° and 30° latitude, under descending dry air masses associated with subtropical high-pressure cells.123
While often pictured as sandy and hot, deserts can also be cold. Precipitation is minimal, often less than 10 inches (250 mm) annually, and can be highly unreliable, with years passing without rain in some areas. Despite the harsh conditions, deserts support unique ecosystems with specially adapted plants and animals. Desertification, the degradation of land in arid areas, is an ongoing environmental concern.1345
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AfricaClimatic regionsThese are the hot desert, semiarid, tropical wet-and-dry, equatorial (tropical wet), Mediterranean, humid subtropical marine, warm temperate upland, and mountain regions.
Read MoreThese are the hot desert, semiarid, tropical wet-and-dry, equatorial (tropical wet), Mediterranean, humid subtropical marine, warm temperate upland, and mountain regions.
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alluvial fan…larger and more prominent in arid and semiarid regions, however, and generally are regarded as characteristic desert landforms. This is particularly true in the basin-and-range type of areas of parts of Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the western United States, Chile and Peru, Sinai and western Arabia, and Central Asia, where the…
Read More…larger and more prominent in arid and semiarid regions, however, and generally are regarded as characteristic desert landforms. This is particularly true in the basin-and-range type of areas of parts of Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the western United States, Chile and Peru, Sinai and western Arabia, and Central Asia, where the…
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biosphereHumidityDesert animals typically have skin that is relatively impervious to water. The major site of evaporation is the respiratory exchange surface, which must be moist to allow the gaseous exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. A reduction in amount of water lost through respiration can…
Read MoreDesert animals typically have skin that is relatively impervious to water. The major site of evaporation is the respiratory exchange surface, which must be moist to allow the gaseous exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. A reduction in amount of water lost through respiration can…
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South AmericaArid climatesWarm and cold deserts and certain coastal and interior regions are classified as arid climates. Patagonia and northwestern Argentina constitute the largest of the interior arid regions. Rainfall is low, only about 4 inches (100 mm) in San Juan in the north and…
Read MoreWarm and cold deserts and certain coastal and interior regions are classified as arid climates. Patagonia and northwestern Argentina constitute the largest of the interior arid regions. Rainfall is low, only about 4 inches (100 mm) in San Juan in the north and…
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