Climate of deserts

To understand the climate of deserts. Geographical Target

1.Not all deserts are hot! There are places in the world that have cold deserts e.g. __________________________. 2.Hot deserts have 2 seasons: A summer and a winter. In summer they are very hot during the day (30°C) and can reach freezing at night. In winter they are much cooler.

Why is the climate like it is? Desert Upper Atmosphere At 30° N and S of the equator the air in the atmosphere is cold! Cold air sinks to the ground. Because it sinks, there are no clouds formed, so there is no precipitation! As the cold air gets closer to the desert floor, it warms up. Due to the lack of water, there is little evaporation so no clouds form! Because there are no clouds, it is freezing at night!

Climate data for deserts JFMAMJJASOND R/F(mm) T°C Dakhla, Egypt JFMAMJJASOND R/F(mm) T°C Arctic Bay, Canada

Interactive climate graph

How to construct a climate graph… 1. Draw and label the axes (remember you need two names for the y axis – ‘temperature’ and ‘rainfall’ ).

always plot the temperature points in the middle of the months on the x axis 2. Work out the right scale for each axis (look at your highest temperature and rainfall figures). 3.Draw the graph using bars for rainfall and a line for temperature. How to construct a climate graph…