HOT AND DRY WEATHER: THE SAHARA DESERT!

The Sahara Desert is in Northern Africa

The largest desert in the world. The Sahara The largest desert in the world. Key point: What is a desert? A desert is a dry, often sandy region with little rainfall, extreme temperatures and very little plant life.                                       

Weather in The Sahara: The Facts.... The Sahara is very hot! Look at the location of Sahara on the map! Why is it so hot? What is it near to? The temperature on a Winter day is about 30 degrees. On a Summer day it can be over 50 degrees celcius! The world's highest recorded temperature was in the Sahara Desert. 

Slightly cooler around the coast and where there are rivers. Hottest in the centre! Slightly cooler around the coast and where there are rivers.

It is cooler at night!!! In one day it can go from 0 degrees at night to 40 degrees in the day! Deserts get cold at night because there is no water and there are no plants to hold the heat on the ground and because dry air cools quickly.

Very little rain! It rarely rains in the Sahara. In some areas there is as little as 5mm of rain in a WHOLE YEAR. Some areas go years without ANY RAIN at all !!!!! When it does rain it tends to be a BIG THUNDERSTORM after a long dry spell!

Winds Weather brings some strong winds to the Sahara Desert. These winds can blow for days and bring a lot of dust and sand with them.  They can cause SANDSTORMS and DUST STORMS/DUST DEVILS.

Sand Storms During sandstorms, the wind lifts up grains of sand and bounces them around. Very unpleasant – and painful for the people in The Sahara. Howling winds whip up sand which cuts their faces and hands and gets into their eyes, noses, and mouths. Sand Storms Sand grains are heavy, so storm is low to the ground. The people of The Sahara have special names for the Sand Storms! A wild sand storm is called Haboob and the wind that sweeps sand across the desert from March until May is called Khamsin, which is Arabic for ’50 days’.

DUST DEVILS! Dust devils can also pick up sand, leaves, paper, and sometimes other objects. Spin at 25 miles an hour but they last for Only a few minutes. They have small width, but they can rise as high as half a mile. A dust devil may look like a miniature tornado. DUST DEVILS! The planet Mars has dust storms, too. The dust is made up of soil, dried leaves, volcanic ash, parts of meteorites that have burnt up in the atmosphere, plant pollen, mould, fungus, bacteria and germs. So it is NOT HEALTHY TO BREATHE IN THIS DUST!

What effect does the weather have on life here? Two million people (2000000) still live in The Sahara. But 60 million live in the UK and it is much much smaller! People must wear protective clothing in The Sahara. People live where there is water – not in the centre of The Sahara. Not many people cross the Sahara. Not many people come on holiday here – only to places where there are rivers or on the coast. One example is Egypt!

PLANTS AND ANIMALS. NOT MANY PLANTS AND ANIMALS CONSIDERING ITS SO BIG! THESE PLANTS AND ANIMALS HAVE ADAPTED TO THE CLIMATE. BUT STILL….SOME PARTS OF THE SAHARA HAVE NO PLANTS OR ANIMALS. The African Peyote Cactus can hold water for a very long time, until it rains again. The African Welwitchsia. Long spread out roots (корни) under the ground. This helps the plant survive by helping it reach (достигаемость)out to get more water out of the ground because it rarely rains in the desert. Plants must be able to absorb water and retain it.

The African Monitor is cold blooded. The African Camel has… Two sets of eye lashes on each eye and bushy eye brows to protect their eyes from the sand. Can go up to a week without drinking and still survive. Can drinks lots and store it. Has wide padded feet so they can walk over the sand. Stores fat in humps. The African Monitor is cold blooded. This helps the animal keep his or her bodies cooler so they do not overheat in the hot desert sun. Addaxes Large, flat hooves for walking over the sand without sinking. Can go without water for a long time. Dig holes in the ground for shade. Some animals come out at night when it is cooler! Some animals look for shade in the day.

Are there any patterns that you can see on this map?