Desert climate: Difference between revisions

{{legend|#FE9695|[[#Cold desert climates|BWcBWk]] (cold desert climates)}}]]

The '''desert climate''' or '''arid climate''' (in the [[Köppen climate classification]] ''BWh'' and ''BWcBWk'') is a [[dry climate]] sub-type in which there is a severe excess of [[evaporation]] over [[precipitation]]. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert climates are dry and hold little moisture, quickly evaporating the already little rainfall they receive. Covering 14.2% of Earth's land area, hot deserts are the second most common type of climate on Earth after the [[polar climate]].<ref name="peel et al">{{cite journal |last=Peel |first=M. C. |author2=B. L. Finlayson |author3=T. A. McMahon |year=2007 |title=Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification |url=https://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.pdf |title=Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification |first=M. C. |last=Peel |author2=B. L. Finlayson |author3=T. A. McMahon |journal = Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |volume=11 |issue=5 |year=2007 |pages=1633–1644 |bibcode = 2007HESS...11.1633P |doi=10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 |doi-access=free }}</ref> after the [[polar climate]].

There are two variations of a [[desert]] climate according to the [[Köppen climate classification]]: a hot desert climate (''BWh''), and a cold desert climate (''BWcBWk''). To delineate "hot desert climates" from "cold desert climates", a mean annual temperature of {{cvt|18|C|1}} is used as an isotherm so that a location with a ''BW'' type climate with the appropriate temperature above this isotherm is classified as "hot arid subtype" (''BW'''h'''''), and a location with the appropriate temperature below the isotherm is classified as "cold arid subtype" (''BW'''ck''''').

{{climate chart|[[Sabha, Libya|Sabha]], Libya

Hot desert climates (''BWh'') are typically found under the [[subtropical ridge]] in the lower middle latitudes or the [[subtropics]], often between 20° and 33° north and south latitudes. In these locations, stable descending air and high pressure aloft clear clouds and create hot, arid conditions with intense sunshine. Hot desert climates are found across vast areas of [[North Africa]], [[WesternWest Asia]], northwestern parts of the [[Indian Subcontinent]], southwestern Africa, interior Australia, the [[Southwestern United States]], the south-eastern coast ofnorthern [[SpainMexico]], northernsections of southeastern [[MexicoSpain]], the coast of [[Peru]], and [[Chile]]. This makes hot deserts present in every continent except Antarctica.

[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map BWh presentGeiger_Map_v2_BWh_1991–2020.svg|thumb|left|250px|Regions with hot desert climates]]

Hot desert climates can be found in the deserts of [[North Africa]] such as the wide [[Sahara Desert]], the [[Libyan Desert]] or the [[Nubian Desert]]; deserts of the [[Horn of Africa]] such as the [[Danakil Desert]] or the [[Grand Bara|Grand Bara Desert]]; deserts of [[Southern Africa]] such as the [[Namib Desert]] or the [[Kalahari Desert]]; deserts of [[WesternWest Asia]] such as the [[Arabian Desert]], or the [[Syrian Desert]]; deserts of [[South Asia]] such as [[Dasht-e Lut]] and [[Dasht-e Kavir]] of Iran or the [[Thar Desert]] of India and Pakistan; deserts of the United States and Mexico such as the [[Mojave Desert]], the [[Sonoran Desert]] or the [[Chihuahuan Desert]]; deserts of Australia such as the [[Simpson Desert]] or the [[Great Victoria Desert]] and many other regions. In [[Europe]], the hot desert climate can only be found only on the southeastern coast of [[Spain]] as well as small inland parts of southeastern, especially parts of the [[Tabernas Desert]].<ref>{{cite web|title=ATLAS CLIMÁTICO IBÉRICO|url=http://www.aemet.es/documentos/es/conocermas/recursos_en_linea/publicaciones_y_estudios/publicaciones/Atlas-climatologico/Atlas.pdf|website=administracion.gob.es/|publisher=Instituto de Meteorologia de Portugal|access-date=May 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Evolucion de los climas de Koppen en España: 1951-2020 |url=https://www.aemet.es/documentos/es/conocermas/recursos_en_linea/publicaciones_y_estudios/publicaciones/NT_37_AEMET/NT_37_AEMET.pdf |access-date=2024-01-08 |website=[[Agencia Estatal de Meteorologia]]}}</ref> and the [[Canary Islands]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aemet.es/documentos/es/conocermas/recursos_en_linea/publicaciones_y_estudios/publicaciones/2Atlas_climatologico/Atlas_Clima_Macaronesia___Baja.pdf |title= MACARONESIAN CLIMATE ATLAS |website=www.aemet.es |access-date=2020-08-17}}</ref>

{{Redirect|BWcBWk||BWCBWK (disambiguation){{!}}BWCBWK}}

| [[Leh]], India

[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map BWk presentGeiger_Map_v2_BWk_1991–2020.svg|thumb|left|Regions with cold desert climates]]

Cold desert climates (''BWcBWk'') usually feature hot (or warm in a few instances), dry summers, though summers are not typically as hot as hot desert climates. Unlike hot desert climates, cold desert climates tend to feature cold, dry winters. Snow tends to be rare in regions with this climate. The [[Gobi Desert]] in northern China and Mongolia is one example of cold desert. Though hot in the summer, it shares the very cold winters of the rest of [[Inner Asia]]. Summers in South America's [[Atacama Desert]] are mild with only slight temperature variations between seasons. Cold desert climates are typically found at higher altitudes than hot desert climates and are usually drier than hot desert climates.

Cold desert climates are typically located in temperate zones in the 30s and 40s latitudes, usually in the leeward [[rain shadow]] of high mountains, which restricts precipitation from the westerly winds. An example of this is the [[Patagonian Desert]] in Argentina bounded by the [[Andes|Andes ranges]] to its west. In the case of Central Asia, mountains restrict precipitation from the [[East Asian monsoon|eastern monsoon]]. The [[Kyzyl Kum]], [[Taklamakan Desert|Taklamakan]] and [[Cold Desert, Skardu|Katpana Desert]] deserts of [[Central Asia]] are other major examples of ''BWk'' climates. The [[Ladakh]] region, and the city of [[Leh]] in the [[Great Himalayas]] in India also have a cold desert climate. In North America, the cold desert climate occurs in the drier parts of the [[Great Basin Desert]] and the [[Bighorn Basin]] in [[Big Horn County, Wyoming|Big Horn]] and [[Washakie County, Wyoming|Washakie County]] in [[list of counties in Wyoming|Wyoming]]. The [[Hautes Plaines]], located in the northeastern section of [[Morocco]] and in [[Algeria]] is another major example of a cold desert climate. In [[Europe]], this climate can only be found in some inland parts of southeastern Spain, such as in [[Lorca, Spain|Lorca]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Meteorología |first=Agencia Estatal de |title=Valores climatológicos normales - Agencia Estatal de Meteorología - AEMET. Gobierno de España |url=https://www.aemet.es/es/serviciosclimaticos/datosclimatologicos/valoresclimatologicos |access-date=2024-01-08 |website=www.aemet.es |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Evolucion de los climas de Koppen en España: 1951-2020 |url=https://www.aemet.es/documentos/es/conocermas/recursos_en_linea/publicaciones_y_estudios/publicaciones/NT_37_AEMET/NT_37_AEMET.pdf |access-date=2024-01-08 |website=[[Agencia Estatal de Meteorologia]]}}</ref>