Hot and Dry Desert

The four major North American deserts of this type are the Chihuahuan, Sonoran, Mojave and Great Basin. Others outside the U.S. include the Southern Asian realm, Neotropical (South and Central America), Ethiopian (Africa) and Australian.
The seasons are generally warm throughout the year and very hot in the summer. The winters usually bring little rainfall. Temperatures exhibit daily extremes because the atmosphere contains little humidity to block the Sun’s rays. Desert surfaces receive a little more than twice the solar radiation received by humid regions and lose almost twice as much heat at night. Many mean annual temperatures range from 20-25° C. The extreme maximum ranges from 43.5-49° C. Minimum temperatures sometimes drop to -18° C.

Deserts with hot and dry climates are warm all year round, and are extremely hot in the summer. Usually, they have very little rainfall, making the climate extremely dry, and hard for plants and animals to survive.

Animals in the hot and dry desert also have special adaptations that allow them to survive. Look at the pages about desert animals to learn what some of these special adaptations are.