answersLogoWhite

0

Why is the Sahara so hot?

Updated: 8/11/2023
User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

Best Answer

The Sahara Desert can get up to 58 ºC (136.4 ºF), which was the record set in Libya in 1922. Summer daytime temperatures over 50ºC are not uncommon. However, the reading was thrown out as it was concluded the most compelling scenario for the 1922 event was that a new and inexperienced observer, not trained in the use of an unsuitable replacement instrument that could be easily misread, improperly recorded the observation and was consequently in error by about seven degrees Celsius. A temperature of 134 degrees F. measured in Death Valley in 1913 holds the official record.

User Avatar

Wiki User

9y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar
More answers
User Avatar

Wiki User

10y ago

The Sahara desert can be extremely hot in summer particulary in the heart of the desert and remains hot in winter particulary in the south part of the desert. The Sahara desert heat and aridity is caused by the atmospheric circulation of air masses over the world. The story begins in the equator where the Sun radiation is the most intense. The Sun heats up very strongly the ground and the atmosphere in the equators which cause the air to lift up, to rise and to form high powerful clouds such as the Cumulonimbus clouds and these clouds produce heavy rains over the equator region. The air has now lost a large part of his humidity over the equator and is now very dry. Then the dry air begins to go in lower latitudes, towards the poles and the air cools off. Once, the dry cool air reached the subtropical regions, it starts to descend, to sink which warms up the air and dries out adiabatically and it's here the hot deserts regions form. This part of the atmospheric circulation is called the Hadley Cell and this cell form the subtropical ridge, a large subtropical zone with a dry sinking air that prevent cloud and rain formation and with a lot of the sunshine. The subtropical ridge leads to the formation of hot deserts in the Northern Hemisphere such as the Sahara, the Libyan Desert, the Arabian Deserts, the Mojave and the Sonoran Desert and many other but also in the Southern Hemisphere with some well-known hot deserts like the Atacama Desert, the Australian Desert, the Namibian Desert.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

10y ago

The question is a generalization, Africa has many climatic and geographical zones: tropical jungle, Savannah grasslands, desert, temperate Mediterranean areas, winter and summer rainfall areas even areas where it snow in winter etc.

The main reason why large portions of the continent are hot (tropical or desert) is because large sections fall across the equator, as well as two very large sections that fall within the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. This means (in general) the continent has a very high exposure to sunlight, more so than countries in the northern hemisphere (e.g. Europe).

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

9y ago

The hottest air temperature ever reliably recorded in a desert was 134 degrees F in Death Valley of the Mojave Desert in California on July 10, 1913. An even warmer temperature of 136 degrees was recorded a few years later in Libya but that has been discounted as inaccurate as it was not properly measured by untrained Italian soldiers. A recent ground temperature was measured by a satellite in Iran that was even hotter but the ground temperature does not reflect the temperature of the air above it. Anyone who has walked barefoot over an asphalt parking lot in summer can attest to that.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

12y ago

Wal-Mart and BestBuy are two retailers among others that offer prepaid cell phones for sale. You can purchase these phones brand new without a contract. To get minutes, you would need to purchase refillable minutes cards that work similar to a prepaid debit card. You can purchase an unlimited number of these cards and refill your prepaid account as needed. Many mass merchandise retailers such as Wal-Mart sell these prepaid minutes cards in the checkout lanes.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

Lack of water in an area,makes it dry.

So...the sun beats down on the dry land and makes it so hot.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

11y ago

it is because the sun hits itself very high in Africa so the hot sun gives hot weather. that is why Africa is very hot.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

9y ago

The Sahara desert is one of the hottest desert in the world. The Sahara desert is also the worlds largest sub tropical desert.

This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: Why is the Sahara so hot?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Related questions

Is the Sahara climate hot and wet?

No, the Sahara has a hot and dry climate.


What does it mean when someone says it's so hot in here it feels like the sherra desert?

When someone says it's so hot in here it feels like the Sahara desert, they are using hyperbole to emphasize how unbearably hot it is. The Sahara desert is known for its extreme temperatures, so likening a hot environment to the Sahara desert conveys the intensity of the heat experienced.


What category of desert is the Sahara?

The Sahara is classified as a hot desert.


Is the Gobi desert as hot as the Sahara?

no the sahara desert is hotter


What sort of desert is the Sahara?

The Sahara is classified as a hot desert.


What is significant about the Sahara Desert?

The Sahara is the largest hot desert on earth.


What is the enormous desert that stretches across North Africa?

The Sahara covers nearly all of the northern third of Africa. It is the second largest desert on earth and largest hot desert. By the way, the word Sahara means desert so to call it the Sahara Desert is a redundancy. It is simply called the Sahara.


How hot does the Sahara Desert get all year round?

The Sahara desert IS NOT hot all the time.Because the temperature in there always be changes. Example : In the afternoon,the Sahara desert is very hot.But,in the night,the temperature in the Sahara desert changes be colder.


Is the Sahara a desert?

Yes, the Sahara is a desert, the largest hot desert on the planet.


Which is the largest desert in the world-Sahara or Kalahari?

Sahara is the largest hot desert


What is the ecosystem of the Sahara desert?

The Sahara desert is the world's largest hot desert and is about the size of Brazil. The physical processes that occur in the Sahara are much the same as they are in other hot deserts of the world.


Is the Sahara Desert the largest hot desert in the world?

Yes, the Sahara is the largest hot desert while Antarctica is the largest desert overall.