Arid climate subtype in the Köppen climate classification system with very little precipitation
Regions with desert climates
BWh (hot desert climates)
BWk (cold desert climates)
The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification BWh and BWk) is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert climates are dry and hold little moisture, quickly evaporating the already little rainfall they receive. Covering 14.2% of Earth's land area, hot deserts are the second most common type of climate on Earth after the polar climate.[1]
There are two variations of a desert climate according to the Köppen climate classification: a hot desert climate (BWh), and a cold desert climate (BWk). To delineate "hot desert climates" from "cold desert climates", a mean annual temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) is used as an isotherm so that a location with a BW type climate with the appropriate temperature above this isotherm is classified as "hot arid subtype" (BWh), and a location with the appropriate temperature below the isotherm is classified as "cold arid subtype" (BWk).
Most desert/arid climates receive between 25 and 200 mm (1 and 8 in) of rainfall annually,[2][3] although some of the most consistently hot areas of Central Australia, the Sahel and Guajira Peninsula can be, due to extreme potential evapotranspiration, classed as arid with the annual rainfall as high as 430 millimetres or 17 inches.
See also: Aridity index
^Peel, M. C.; B. L. Finlayson; T. A. McMahon (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification" (PDF). Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. 11 (5): 1633–1644. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007.
^Laity, Julie J. (2009). Deserts and Desert Environments. John Wiley & Sons. p. 7. ISBN 978-1444300741.
^"What is a Desert Climate?". WorldAtlas. 2017-11-01. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
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