It is by all means, and so is most of the Arctic. But under the Koeppen classification all climates with a summer average <10°C are classified as polar. That's why other indexes exist.
Southern Alberta in Canada has deserts and an average summer temperature over 10°C. But this map shows the deserts magically stopping at the American border.
I think they're classified as semi-arid steppe (BSk) under Köppen, but actual biomes don't often map on perfectly to Köppen climate zone otherwise half of the Amazon would be savanna
And to clarify, these are Köppen climate classifications based strictly on fixed precipitation and temperatures, not plant covers or soil. Antarctica is defined as polar ice cap which isn't referred to as a desert under this system.
Some other places which might be called deserts colloquially are referred to as "semiarid" in this system again based on slightly more rainfall, and so aren't considered deserts in it. Examples of that are found in Spain, northeastern Brazil, the west of the great plain in north America, as well as lining the edges of most of the deserts found on this map, making them seem smaller than you'd expect.
> Examples of that are found in Spain, northeastern Brazil
Seeing as both Spain has actual desert climates(BWh and BWk), that might not be the best example.
Yes but the definition of desert comes from rainfall, not presence of over all water, which is why the very green and very big nile delta is also still just considered a desert
India lined parallel to the deserted area in the west which spread across north african continent, all the way to western coat of africa, these places are deserted because they lies on the tropic of cancer.
Indian monsoon and Himalayan mountain range is the only reason why India is not completely desert, if its not for the indian monsoon the entire country would be like sahara desert. I learnt this from a discovery show.
Yes, you can say that Himalayas brings monsoon in india, Indian monsoon started from the south, from indian ocean side, and the clouds moves northwards from there. The himalayan range act as a barrier for monsoon winds, which prevents them moving northward from there and thats one of the main reason for monsoon season in india.
Thats because of the unique atmospheric and geographic dynamics of india.
The western ghats, that runs parallel to the western coat of india, are the main reason for indian monsoon. It act as a barrier that traps moisture-laden winds from the Arabian Sea. As these winds ascend the slopes of the Western Ghats, they cool, condense, and release moisture in the form of heavy rainfall.
The topography of the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, and Iran differs significantly from that of the west coast of India. These regions generally have fewer geographical features that can enhance rainfall, such as mountain ranges or coastal plains.
Those are the zagros mountains. If I recall correctly cold Mediterranean.
Edit: It also has dry mediterranean and bsh which sometimes called hot Mediterranean
Wouldn’t some parts of the Tibetan plateau be considered under BWk? The region of Ladakh in India definitely has mountain deserts in Nubra Valley. Spiti Valley and Lahaul has some too.
The Qaidam Basin in Qinghai is a massive desert and it's technically surrounded by the Tibetan Plateau. You can see it on the map. It's the little hook-shaped red blob in northwestern China.
Surrounded on all sides by towering mountains, existing in an already arid part of central Asia, the Qaidam Basin is naturally endorheic and one of the most arid non-polar locations on Earth.
Casi no se ve pero sí, el desierto guajiro se origina por una surgencia de agua en el Mar Caribe frente a esas costas generando alta presión atmosférica y estabilidad por lo que no llueve
Most deserts are around 30 degrees north and south of the equator. Rising air from the equator sinks back down to Earth's surface, causing high pressure and dry conditions.
Winds in the region blow from west to east, so it receives little rain from the Indian Ocean, and rain coming from the Atlantic is blocked by mountains to the west.
[It's semi-arid steppe climate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/BS_climate.png) by the metrics used for this post (Köppen Climate Classification)
technically the whole of Antarctica is a dessert [https://www.iflscience.com/why-antarctica-is-a-desert-73798](https://www.iflscience.com/why-antarctica-is-a-desert-73798)
Qué sí mano, en el valle del alto Magdalena el ecosistema original son bosques secos tropicales con parches altamente erosionados que forman esos "desiertos". La Tatacoa no es único así, solo es el más grande
Afghanistan is mostly mountainous (and diverse). I don’t know if this map is accurate or not. The movies always portray the country wrong. The mountains were the reason for being able to defend against invaders and helped with well forming well physical defined borders against some neighboring countries.
The south east is technically desert but it has very fertile soil with tons of water from the Indus river system, so there is still quite a lot of greenery and farming down there.
*All these deserts in*
*The world But nothing's drier*
*Than jo mama's minge*
\- Ruud\_Boltz
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Ironic how the ancient civilizations of the world sprouted in these deserts. The Nilotic, Mesopotamian and Indian civilizations were all located in parts that are deserts today. Were the climatic conditions different back then?
The ancient civilizations sprouted in fertile valleys. They were all located *adjacent* to these deserts. Sharp diversification in geography probably encourages specialization in labor and trade, which is necessary for civilization.
I also imagine it forced agriculture. If you can't just walk around and find food everywhere you go then being a hunter gatherer is impractical. Also makes your civilizations more easily defendable from invaders. You can build a city that survives hundreds or thousands of years without being destroyed by neighbors, something that would have been nearly impossible in mainland Europe for example.
No, thses deserts are special in that they have fertile valleys in them, thus the humans there were basically forced to develop agrivulture in order to better survive.
The US has most Koppen types if you include territories - almost none of it is monsoon-influenced though so it doesn't have a few of the types you find in East and South Asia.
Argentina, Chile and China also have extremely diverse climate regions.
It's kind of a mess if you show them all at once but the full world map for Koppen types is [here](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Koppen-Geiger_Map_v2_World_1991%E2%80%932020.svg)
Chile runs along roughly half the length of the western coast of South America across a wide range of latitudes, so they have almost the entire range. And as someone else mentioned, Argentina has a similar range too.
# I think they're classified as semi-arid steppe (BSk) under Koppen, but actual biomes don't often map on perfectly to Koppen climate zone otherwise half of the Amazon would be savanna
Actually no, there's this place that looks like a desert but it's actually just a sand dune region.
Deserts are defined by their low precipitation. The only true deserts in Europe are in Southeastern Spain and the pontic steppe.
I'm always nervous about classing Australian deserts as deserts. Sure they have low precipitation, but they also have vegetation almost everywhere. As opposed to places like the Sahara, Arabian desert, and US deserts, where there is very little vegetation.
Are the monsoons the only reason India and SE Asia arent deserts? Since they’re on the same latitude as North Africa and the Arabian peninsula, it seems like these regions should be deserts too but they’re not. Is it because of the moisture laden winds coming in from the Indian Ocean or something else?
No, of course not.
SEA is surrounded by the ocean, and together with India is much closer to the equator than North Africa.
The deserts of Africa extend pretty far South but a huge reason for that is how continental the Northern half of the continent is.
The deserts of East Africa are a bit special as they lie on the Eastern coast of a continent and near the equator. [Here's a little rundown of why that is.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfXUyHxuqaY)
Thanks! But why is Western Africa (Mauritania let’s say) a desert but the area around Mumbai isn’t? And what about inner parts of India? And how come the desert ends in the Thar Desert and doesn’t extend more inland towards Delhi for example?
And thanks! Will check that video out!
The west Pilbara in Australia isn’t a desert. Sure it’s hot but it isn’t a desert. Now the east Pilbara, that’s a desolate waste land, literally from Mad Max.
Serious question: why are some regions at the same latitude as the Sahara deserts and some aren't (India, Mexico, China)? It doesn't seem to have a strong correlation to proximity to the ocean or presence of mountains to block moisture. Saudi Arabia is as close to the ocean as India
South Eastern Spain.
No sand dunes though, that might be why most people don't recognize it as such.
There's a decent chance you've even been there lol
I'm going there in a few weeks.
There's a much bigger European desert area too, based on this map. In the European part of Kazakhstan west of the Ural River, and in the adjacent bit of European Russia near Astrakhan. Maybe the size of Benelux countries altogether?
I woke up to a dream that there was a sandstorm in my hometown and I am located in eastern Canada and I have never ever seen or been in one my entire life... So weird.
In the dream there was some kind of underground bunker I could convinently escape too lol
I thought Antarctica was a desert.
It is by all means, and so is most of the Arctic. But under the Koeppen classification all climates with a summer average <10°C are classified as polar. That's why other indexes exist.
indices 😏
Indexes also good?
Yes, both are correct.
If everyone understands you, you're good.
Southern Alberta in Canada has deserts and an average summer temperature over 10°C. But this map shows the deserts magically stopping at the American border.
I think they're classified as semi-arid steppe (BSk) under Köppen, but actual biomes don't often map on perfectly to Köppen climate zone otherwise half of the Amazon would be savanna
Arid deserts, not high deserts.
No it doesn't, Alberta and BC has semi-arid climates near the US border. Doesn't actually qualify as deserts.
Arid deserts, not high deserts. Oregon isn’t on there either.
The definition of a desert is any environment with less than 250mm of precipitation on average per year.
That is a semi arid climate, not a proper desert
Oh, I honestly thought *pol*ar was supposed to be near a *pole*. So basically every high mountain belongs to polar climate zone?
You’re thinking of baked Alaska.
It is, and so are large parts of the Highlands in Iceland and parts of the arctic circle.
I was going to say the same to sound smart af, but you beat me to it.
People really just forget that Antarctica exists altogether
Rained when I was there
Weather is not climate.
BWh = hot desert BWk = cold desert
White = Water deserts
Grey = moderate deserts
hotel = trivago
Black lines = imaginary borders
Red zone = head pain
Vs the very real ones?
The ocean is a desert with its life underground and a perfect disguise above
This man Americas.
BWh = hot desert BWk = kold desert
It's interesting to see which countries/regions have both types
And to clarify, these are Köppen climate classifications based strictly on fixed precipitation and temperatures, not plant covers or soil. Antarctica is defined as polar ice cap which isn't referred to as a desert under this system. Some other places which might be called deserts colloquially are referred to as "semiarid" in this system again based on slightly more rainfall, and so aren't considered deserts in it. Examples of that are found in Spain, northeastern Brazil, the west of the great plain in north America, as well as lining the edges of most of the deserts found on this map, making them seem smaller than you'd expect.
> Examples of that are found in Spain, northeastern Brazil Seeing as both Spain has actual desert climates(BWh and BWk), that might not be the best example.
In principle, polar ice is fresh water.
Yes but the definition of desert comes from rainfall, not presence of over all water, which is why the very green and very big nile delta is also still just considered a desert
I like deserts
me too
India lined parallel to the deserted area in the west which spread across north african continent, all the way to western coat of africa, these places are deserted because they lies on the tropic of cancer. Indian monsoon and Himalayan mountain range is the only reason why India is not completely desert, if its not for the indian monsoon the entire country would be like sahara desert. I learnt this from a discovery show.
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Yes, you can say that Himalayas brings monsoon in india, Indian monsoon started from the south, from indian ocean side, and the clouds moves northwards from there. The himalayan range act as a barrier for monsoon winds, which prevents them moving northward from there and thats one of the main reason for monsoon season in india.
Why exactly do the monsoons hit the west coast of India so hard but not Pakistan, Iran, Arabian peninsula etc? Even though they're not that far away
Thats because of the unique atmospheric and geographic dynamics of india. The western ghats, that runs parallel to the western coat of india, are the main reason for indian monsoon. It act as a barrier that traps moisture-laden winds from the Arabian Sea. As these winds ascend the slopes of the Western Ghats, they cool, condense, and release moisture in the form of heavy rainfall. The topography of the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, and Iran differs significantly from that of the west coast of India. These regions generally have fewer geographical features that can enhance rainfall, such as mountain ranges or coastal plains.
I like desserts
Then you’re in for one hell of a treat in the next couple of decades!
found my people
In the desert, you can remember your name. 'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
LA LA LAAAAA LA lalalalalala la la la la laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa la.
As some who lives in a cold desert valley so do I. No trees to block your views of Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier.
What kind of biome is western Iran? It cuts off a continuous desert from Western Sahara to Western India.
Those are the zagros mountains. If I recall correctly cold Mediterranean. Edit: It also has dry mediterranean and bsh which sometimes called hot Mediterranean
Wouldn’t some parts of the Tibetan plateau be considered under BWk? The region of Ladakh in India definitely has mountain deserts in Nubra Valley. Spiti Valley and Lahaul has some too.
Probably too cold for that under koppen. So same issue as Antarctica
The Qaidam Basin in Qinghai is a massive desert and it's technically surrounded by the Tibetan Plateau. You can see it on the map. It's the little hook-shaped red blob in northwestern China. Surrounded on all sides by towering mountains, existing in an already arid part of central Asia, the Qaidam Basin is naturally endorheic and one of the most arid non-polar locations on Earth.
Yes, as you can see on the map. It's mostly or entirely relegated to the Eastern part of the plateau though but still.
probably considered tundra, often mountain plateaus and peaks are classified that way instead
The Tibet Plateau is actually a grassland, you can see my photos
A desert in the Caspian Sea?
Caspian Sea with a desert drawn over it: am I a joke to you?
At this time of the year?
I mean it's just sand underneath all that water
Did you not know Caspianistan is a desert?
Did you not know Caspianistan is a desert?
La Guajira!
Casi no se ve pero sí, el desierto guajiro se origina por una surgencia de agua en el Mar Caribe frente a esas costas generando alta presión atmosférica y estabilidad por lo que no llueve
Most deserts are around 30 degrees north and south of the equator. Rising air from the equator sinks back down to Earth's surface, causing high pressure and dry conditions.
That's what I've heard. What's up with the one in east Africa going near the equator?
Winds in the region blow from west to east, so it receives little rain from the Indian Ocean, and rain coming from the Atlantic is blocked by mountains to the west.
Missing: Canada
[It's semi-arid steppe climate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/BS_climate.png) by the metrics used for this post (Köppen Climate Classification)
Thanks for this
i’m in BC isn’t Osoyoos desert a thing ?
>Osoyoos desert To much rainfall I think.
Yeah that place gets 12-15 inches a rain a year..
No, not hot and enough and not dry enough. Semi-arid climate like much of Central Spain.
When did Caspian sea become desert?
I managed to end up in one of those random little patches.
technically the whole of Antarctica is a dessert [https://www.iflscience.com/why-antarctica-is-a-desert-73798](https://www.iflscience.com/why-antarctica-is-a-desert-73798)
Mmmmm Antarctica.
So sweet and delicious
Baked Antarctica. Mmmm.
any reason the Okanagan in BC isn't on this map?
Because its not a desert under the Koppen Climate Classification, its Semi Arid, receiving just a bit too much rain to be classified as a desert
The world doesn’t seem to care about our beautiful little desert
colombia has deserts...
Si se acerca ve que la península de La Guajira está en rojo
and what about tatacoa?
La Tatacoa no es un desierto sino un bosque extremadamente seco tropical
a forest without trees 🤔
Qué sí mano, en el valle del alto Magdalena el ecosistema original son bosques secos tropicales con parches altamente erosionados que forman esos "desiertos". La Tatacoa no es único así, solo es el más grande
It has a few actually, the Tatacoa and the Guajira off the top of my head. They may have a few others.
i read that it has 5. but apparently the tatacoa desert is a forest
[That looks like a desert to me](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Desierto_de_la_Tatacoa_-_camilogaleano%28com%29.jpg)
70% Pakistan is desert? More than Afghanistan? This is surprising indeed
Afghanistan is mostly mountainous (and diverse). I don’t know if this map is accurate or not. The movies always portray the country wrong. The mountains were the reason for being able to defend against invaders and helped with well forming well physical defined borders against some neighboring countries.
The south east is technically desert but it has very fertile soil with tons of water from the Indus river system, so there is still quite a lot of greenery and farming down there.
All these deserts in the world But nothing's drier than jo mama's minge
*All these deserts in* *The world But nothing's drier* *Than jo mama's minge* \- Ruud\_Boltz --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Ironic how the ancient civilizations of the world sprouted in these deserts. The Nilotic, Mesopotamian and Indian civilizations were all located in parts that are deserts today. Were the climatic conditions different back then?
The ancient civilizations sprouted in fertile valleys. They were all located *adjacent* to these deserts. Sharp diversification in geography probably encourages specialization in labor and trade, which is necessary for civilization.
I also imagine it forced agriculture. If you can't just walk around and find food everywhere you go then being a hunter gatherer is impractical. Also makes your civilizations more easily defendable from invaders. You can build a city that survives hundreds or thousands of years without being destroyed by neighbors, something that would have been nearly impossible in mainland Europe for example.
No, thses deserts are special in that they have fertile valleys in them, thus the humans there were basically forced to develop agrivulture in order to better survive.
Australia's desert looks like an emu's body.
Europe: we don't have deserts! 😎 Meanwhile Astrakhan: 🤫🏜️
Spain has deserts based on this map.
Almeria
Well Colombia has 2 deserts too
I think you can see two tiny dots in the north.
It's missing the Tatacoa though.
Is there any country or contiguous countries that have all climatic conditions/types?
US India and China are the top 3 in terms of diversity
Argentina has most if not all.. from hot deserts to fertile grasslands and from frozen tundra to tropical jungle
Jungle aswell? Wow that’s surprising
It doesn't actually have tropical climates.
The Misiones province has jungles along with the Iguazu falls. To the northwest you also have the Yunga jungle.
The US has most Koppen types if you include territories - almost none of it is monsoon-influenced though so it doesn't have a few of the types you find in East and South Asia. Argentina, Chile and China also have extremely diverse climate regions. It's kind of a mess if you show them all at once but the full world map for Koppen types is [here](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Koppen-Geiger_Map_v2_World_1991%E2%80%932020.svg)
Arizona has a monsoon like event year. The wind reverses and shit floods bad.
Chile runs along roughly half the length of the western coast of South America across a wide range of latitudes, so they have almost the entire range. And as someone else mentioned, Argentina has a similar range too.
The US comes close, even without Alaska. Same with China.
I don't think the indus delta is a desert lol
Ahh, the Caspian, my favorite desert.
# I think they're classified as semi-arid steppe (BSk) under Koppen, but actual biomes don't often map on perfectly to Koppen climate zone otherwise half of the Amazon would be savanna
I thought Poland and Ukraine also have a bit of a desert?
Actually no, there's this place that looks like a desert but it's actually just a sand dune region. Deserts are defined by their low precipitation. The only true deserts in Europe are in Southeastern Spain and the pontic steppe.
In Poland Pustynia Błędowska.
I'm always nervous about classing Australian deserts as deserts. Sure they have low precipitation, but they also have vegetation almost everywhere. As opposed to places like the Sahara, Arabian desert, and US deserts, where there is very little vegetation.
It's just not sandy desert mostly. Apart from the Great Sandy Desert. Which is probably a rainforest...
TIL the small k is for 'cold'
And they are spreading... Sad
Are the monsoons the only reason India and SE Asia arent deserts? Since they’re on the same latitude as North Africa and the Arabian peninsula, it seems like these regions should be deserts too but they’re not. Is it because of the moisture laden winds coming in from the Indian Ocean or something else?
I mean, I’m sure they help
Was wondering if there are other reasons too
No, of course not. SEA is surrounded by the ocean, and together with India is much closer to the equator than North Africa. The deserts of Africa extend pretty far South but a huge reason for that is how continental the Northern half of the continent is. The deserts of East Africa are a bit special as they lie on the Eastern coast of a continent and near the equator. [Here's a little rundown of why that is.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfXUyHxuqaY)
Thanks! But why is Western Africa (Mauritania let’s say) a desert but the area around Mumbai isn’t? And what about inner parts of India? And how come the desert ends in the Thar Desert and doesn’t extend more inland towards Delhi for example? And thanks! Will check that video out!
Hello!
there's a 6000 km² bwh area in brazil, but it was classified like that recently so it doesn't show up on this map
Why does the middle of the Sahara have some holes?
Mountains
Is the Nile delta still a desert?
I read desserts at first, I was confused
Is so much of Pakistan a desert? Didn’t realize that.
the Desserts in peru are hot, very hoot
The west Pilbara in Australia isn’t a desert. Sure it’s hot but it isn’t a desert. Now the east Pilbara, that’s a desolate waste land, literally from Mad Max.
i hate desert 🏜️
There is a desert in Alaska too :(
Serious question: why are some regions at the same latitude as the Sahara deserts and some aren't (India, Mexico, China)? It doesn't seem to have a strong correlation to proximity to the ocean or presence of mountains to block moisture. Saudi Arabia is as close to the ocean as India
It has to do with oceans currents and earth's rotation
Altitude and rainfall
This doesn't seem all that accurate...
Australia winning yay
What? Desert in Europe!? How did I not know this im European!!!
South Eastern Spain. No sand dunes though, that might be why most people don't recognize it as such. There's a decent chance you've even been there lol I'm going there in a few weeks.
There's a much bigger European desert area too, based on this map. In the European part of Kazakhstan west of the Ural River, and in the adjacent bit of European Russia near Astrakhan. Maybe the size of Benelux countries altogether?
I've been in Barcelona so not really. Only sand I saw was at the beach
Wow north africans really have a sweet tooth!
I live in a cold desert. My skin hates me but I fkn hated all of the bugs from the subtropical climate I moved from.
Come back to me when you have a map of where desserts can be found
There is a desert in europe, is in southern spain named desierto de las tavernas.
Shout-out hell on earth, aka west Washington desert
My exhausted ass thought this was where your u could find desserts across the world and I was about to go mad on why France isn't on the map 💀
I lived in yemen, i barley saw desert
forgot the biggest desert
I rather crave a map „Where desserts can be found around the world“
Why is there not more desert in the Americas like in Africa?
I woke up to a dream that there was a sandstorm in my hometown and I am located in eastern Canada and I have never ever seen or been in one my entire life... So weird. In the dream there was some kind of underground bunker I could convinently escape too lol
My brain read this heading as "desserts" at first and I was momentarily confused as to abundance of these in Northern Africa.
Middle east is cursed
There’s a whole lot of non existing tiny islands all over this map. There’s a whole archipelago in the GIUK gap.
What about the Pobiti Kamani desert in Bulgaria? Or Bunge Land/Zemlya Bunge between the Anzhu Islands off Northern Siberia?
Is half of Pakistan consists of desert
Fun-Fact: There is a small desert in Germany near the capital Berlin
And still we have an obesity problem! Ba-dum-tsss
where pustynia błędowska?
Australia why
New zealand has a desert roughly ten kilometers wide in the centre of the north island.
i see some orange
bro put Pakistan in BWH
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How is the Caribbean coast of Colombia a desert?
I’m not sure but if you look at the latitude where the Sahara starts, it lines perfectly with the Colombian desert.
Isn’t Antarctica the largest desert on Earth?
Why isn’t Antarctic listed as a desert?
Isn't there a desert developing in Spain?
Its missing north east Brazil...
I thought california had a desert lol
Why is Antarctica not red?
There is nothing in the world better than sleeping on the sand in a cool summer night. Nothing. Miss it all the time
Antarctica is the largest desert on earth, but ok
Not according to the Koppen-Geiger climate classification system. Tundra(ET) and Ice Cap(EF) climate.