Arid climates

Arid climates

The arid climates, characteristic of the low and middle latitudes between the tropics, are those in which the quantity of precipitations does not succeed in compensating for the water lost due to evaporation. Within this category are found the semiarid climates, to which the pre-desert steppes are associated, and the real desert climates.

>Depending on the geographical position, further hot, desert regions are found, with average temperatures above 18 °C (among these are the Sahara, the Libyan and the Iranian deserts to north, and the Kalahari and the Great Australian sandy desert to south), as well as cold, arid regions, with average temperatures lower than 18 °C, situated inside the continental areas (like the Gobi desert and the arid zones of southern Patagonia). The vegetation, which is very scarce, is limited to few grassy or shrubby species of the xerophyte type.

Guido Bissanti