The Hot desert Climate

A desert area is a dry or arid area characterised by little to no rainfall and high daytime
temperatures. The degree of aridity can be defined using mean annual rainfall and the
type of vegetation.
Degree of aridity Mean annual rainfall (mm) Types of vegetation
Semi- arid 250-500 mm Sparse vegetation such
as short grasses and
scattered trees
Arid 25- 250 mm Plants only appear along
river valleys and in oases
Extremely arid <25mm Bare dry surfaces. Few
plants grow soon after
rainstorm

Distribution of Tropical/Hot Deserts

Most deserts are located in the 15° to 30° either side of the equator. Apart from the
Sahara Desert which extends across Africa most deserts are on the western side of
continents. They include the Atacama in South America, the Kalahari in Botswana,
and the Namib in Namibia, the Australian and Mexican deserts. The Mojave, Mexican,
Iranian and Thar deserts have tropical desert climate but lie north of the Tropic of
Cancer, extending to 40°.

Characteristics of the Tropical Desert Climate

Climate graph
Climate graphs show the average temperature and rainfall for a city or region over the
year. Temperature is always shown in the form of a line graph. Rainfall is always
shown in the form a bar graph. Temperature is shown on a line graph because it is
continuous data meaning that temperature will always be there, and rainfall is shown
on a bar graph because it is discontinuous (discrete) data and not all places have
rainfall every month.
The climate graph below shows average annual rainfall and temperature
throughout the year for a particular area.

Interpreting climate graphs

In the exam you may be asked to look at the information on the graph and describe
the area’s climate.
1. Look for patterns in the temperature data.
o Is the temperature the same all year round? If it is different how many
seasons does the location experience?
o Which month/season is the warmest? Is it warm (10 to 20ºC) , hot (20 to
30ºC) or very hot (above 30ºC)?
o Which month/season has the lowest temperature? Is it mild 0 to 10ºC,
cold -10 t0 0ºC or very cold (below -10ºC)?
o Calculate the annual range of temperature? (Subtract the month with the
lowest temperature from the month with the highest temperature).
2. Look for patterns in the rainfall data
o Does the rainfall occur all year round ?
 o What is the pattern of the rainfall? Check which season or month is drier or
a wetter than others.
o What is the total annual rainfall? Add each month’s total together to get the
annual rainfall total.
o Then put the rainfall and temperature information together- what does it tell
you about this area?
3. Describe the patterns in temperature and rainfall, including how they
relate to each other.
o When reading climate graphs, you should look for trends and anomalies.
You start with the general description which includes all the information
shown on graph.
o The following terms can be used: decreasing, declining, falling,
increasing, rising, fluctuating etc.
o Whenever you are describing graphs, remember it is very important to
use figures with the correct unit. Occasionally you may be asked to give
the temperature or rainfall range – (This is the difference between the
highest and lowest total).
Temperature in Hot Deserts
Deserts have very high daytime temperatures often over 50°C and low night
temperatures below 20°C with clear skies and sometimes ground frost. Diurnal (daily)
temperature range is always high due to the large difference in daytime and night
temperatures. Coastal areas are much cooler partly due to the moderate influence of
the sea and partly because of the effect of cold offshore currents. Mean monthly
temperatures range from 29°C in the hot season to 10°C in the cooler season, though
they vary considerably from desert to desert.
Precipitation in Hot Deserts
The average annual precipitation total less than 250mm a year. Some places have no
recorded precipitation at all e.g., Iquique in the Atacama Desert and Aswan in Egypt.
Rainfall occurs in the form of high-intense and short-lived storms (torrential
convectional downpours), the storms are extremely rare and erratic. After a storm,
a place might have no more rainfall for years.
Reasons why rainfall is low in hot deserts.
1.The influence of pressure on precipitation in hot deserts
The rising air that leads to so much precipitation in equatorial climates eventually
descends to the Earth’s surface in hot deserts. This descending air is a major cause
of desert aridity.
Having risen to the tropopause, the air moves towards the poles and starts to cool-
becoming denser as a result.
It then sinks at about 30ºN and 30ºS- creating high pressure at the surface.
The sinking air becomes compressed, and that compression causes warming. This
results in a decrease in the air’s relative humidity.
After reaching the surface, the dry air moves from the high-pressure area back to the
low pressure in equatorial latitudes- as the trade winds. Some air also moves towards
the poles.

Equator

The circulation of air between the equator and 30ºN and 30ºS are known as the Hadley
Cells.
The pressure belts and air movements which influence tropical climates.
Trade winds are strong and constant because they derive from sinking air . Trade
winds blow over land to the deserts and they do not contain much moisture. The
combination of sinking air and offshore trade winds leads to very low precipitation
in hot deserts. North-east trade winds blow in the Northern Hemisphere and south-
east trade winds blow in the Southern Hemisphere.
The above wind directions are as a result of two controlling factors:
• Winds blow out of high-pressure systems into low pressure systems.
• They are deflected by the Earth’s rotation as they do so. They deflect to the
right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
2. The influence of cold ocean currents on precipitation.
When onshore winds blow to the west coasts of deserts, they can be cooled enough
by the cold ocean currents therefore condensation occurs. This condensation leads to
the formation of fog (tiny water droplets hanging in the air near the surface), which
reduces visibility.
The condensation process removes moisture from the air. As the foggy air moves
inland, the water droplets quickly evaporate. Daytime warming as the air passes over
the land further reduces its relative humidity and the chance of precipitation. For
example, areas such Luderitz only receives 30mm of rain in a year.

Why cold ocean currents offshore increase coastal aridity.

3.The influence of relief on precipitation (the rain shadow effect).
When air containing moisture from the sea reaches the higher ground (physical barrier
such as mountain or a hill), which forces the air to rise in the windward side. As the
air rises it expands, cools, and condenses creating clouds and forming relief or
orographic rainfall.
Windward side Leeward side

.
On the leeward side, the air will be descending or sinking. The descending air is
compressed, so the air warms and the relative humidity reduces (decrease in the
amount of moisture in the air), hence no rain will be formed as the air becomes dry.
This is known as the rain shadow effect.
4.The influence of temperature on precipitation.
Rain does not fall often in deserts but, when it does, it is usually torrential and often
causes flash floods. This is particularly true in the areas nearest to the equator where
occasional convectional storms occur in the summer heat. In these areas, summer is
usually the season when most rain falls. Areas on the pole ward side of deserts have
winter rain.
Practise Question
For a named area you have studied, explain why hot deserts are hot and dry?
For temperature refer to factors affecting temperature.