Deserts in the World

A desert is a dry area of land that receives very low precipitation like rain. They typically receive less than 25 centimetres (10 inches ) of rain every year and they can be either hot or cold. It also has unique wildlife for example camels, snakes and insects. Antarctica is the largest and the coldest desert in the world. The Sahara is the hottest desert in the world.

In this article, You will get to know about the List of major Deserts in the world, the Largest desert in the world and the hottest desert in the world.

Top 10 Biggest Deserts in the World

Here’s a table listing the top 10 largest deserts in the world by area:

Rank	Desert	Location	Area (square kilometers)
1	Antarctic Desert	Antarctica	Approximately 14,000,000
2	Arctic Desert	Arctic region	Approximately 13,700,000
3	Sahara Desert	North Africa	Approximately 9,200,000
4	Arabian Desert	Arabian Peninsula	Approximately 2,330,000
5	Gobi Desert	Asia (China and Mongolia)	Approximately 1,295,000
6	Kalahari Desert	Southern Africa	Approximately 900,000
7	Great Victoria Desert	Australia	Approximately 647,000
8	Patagonian Desert	South America (Argentina and Chile)	Approximately 673,000
9	Syrian Desert	Middle East (Syria, Jordan, Iraq)	Approximately 520,000
10	Great Basin Desert	North America (United States)	Approximately 492,000

List of Deserts in the World

S.no	Name	Type	Area (sq km)
1	Antarctic Desert	Polar ice and Tundra	1,42,00,000
2	Arctic Desert	Polar ice and Tundra	13,900,000
3	Sahara Desert	Subtropical	9,200,000
4	Great Australian	Subtropical	2,700,000
5	Arabian Desert	Subtropical	2,330,000
6	Gobi Desert	Cold Winter	1,295,000
7	Kalahari Desert	Subtropical	900,000
8	Patagonian Desert	Cold Winter	673,000
9	Syrian Desert	Subtropical	500,000
10	Great Basin	Cold Winter	492,098
11	Chihuahuan Desert	Subtropical	453,248
12	Karakum Desert	Cold Winter	350,000
13	Great Victoria	Subtropical	348,750
14	Colorado Plateau	Cold Winter	337,000
15	Sonoran Desert	Subtropical	310,000
16	Kyzylkum Desert	Cold Winter	300,000
17	Taklamakan Desert	Cold Winter	270,000
18	Ogaden Desert	Subtropical	256,000
19	Thar Desert	Subtropical	238,254
20	Puntland Desert	Subtropical	200,000
21	Ustyurt Desert	Temperature	200,000
22	Guban Desert	Subtropical	175,000
23	Namib Desert	Cool Coastal	160,000
24	Dast -e Margo	Subtropical	150,000
25	Registan Desert	Subtropical	146,000
26	Atacama Desert	Mild Coastal	140,000
27	Danakil Desert	Subtropical	137,000
28	Mojave Desert	Subtropical	124,000
29	Chalbi Desert	Subtropical	100,000
30	Columbia Basin	Cold Winter	83,139
31	Dast-e Kavir	Subtropical	77,000
32	Ferlo Desert	Subtropical	70,000
33	Ladakh Desert	Cold Winter	59,146
34	Dasht-e Lut	Subtropical	52,000

Largest Desert in the World: Antarctica Desert

• Antarctica is the largest desert in the world it has a total area of 14 million square kilometres.

• Unlike other hot deserts, it is the opposite because Antarctica is a polar desert with very low temperatures the average is – 63 degrees Celsius and receives precipitation less than 2 cm annually.

• The Antarctica ice sheet holds 90% of the world’s fresh water.

• In this desert, you can experience some of the strongest winds on Earth the wind speed reaches over 300 km/h.

• The McMurdo Dry valleys are Earth’s driest spot with some areas lacking even microbial life.

• It has very unique wildlife penguins and microscopic life thrive in the extreme environment.

• Antarctica is Earth’s fifth largest continent mostly covered in permanent ice.

• Melting ice due to climate change raises sea level concerns.

• It is governed by the International treaty, Antarctica is for scientific research and environmental protection.

Antarctica Desert – Largest Desert in the world.

Data Point	Description
Area	14,000,000 square kilometers (5,500,000 square miles)
Location	Antarctica
Climate	Polar desert
Average Temperature	-63°C (-81°F) (interior) to 10°C (50°F) (coast)
Precipitation	Less than 2 centimetres (0.8 inches) annually
Landscape	Mostly covered in ice sheets and glaciers, with some exposed rock and mountain ranges
Unique Feature	The driest place on Earth (McMurdo Dry Valleys)

Hottest Desert in the World: Sahara Desert

• The Sahara Desert covers 9.2 million square kilometres and It is the world’s hottest desert.

• It is located across the Northern Africa region. It has an average temperature of 30 degrees Celsius.

• The hottest temperature ever recorded in the Sahara desert is 58 degrees Celsius.

• The surrounding mountains of the Sahara desert create a rain shadow effect leading to very low annual precipitation of less than 250mm.

• It has a very diverse landscape beyond dunes, the Sahara boasts rocket plateaus, mountains even oases.

• The Sahara historically served as a trade route between North Africa and Europe.

• The Oases in the Sahara desert are the life-giving heavens with water sources that help to sustain plant and animal life.

Sahara Desert Overview

Data Point	Description
Area	9,200,000 square kilometers (3,600,000 square miles)
Location	Northern Africa
Climate	Hot Desert
Average Temperature	30°C (86°F)
Highest Recorded Temperature	58°C (136°F)
Precipitation	Less than 250 millimetres (10 inches) annually
Landscape	Dunes, rocky plateaus, mountains, and oases

Coldest Desert in the World: Antarctica Desert

• Antarctica is the world’s biggest desert it has an area of 14 million square kilometres and is the coldest desert in the world Its an average temperature of -63°C.

•  Even though it’s covered in ice, Antarctica gets almost no rain or snow (less than 2 cm a year), making it a desert.

• This frozen land holds most of the world’s freshwater (90%) in its massive ice sheets.

• It experiences the world’s most Strong winds blowing over 300 kilometres per hour.

• The McMurdo Dry Valleys here are the driest spots on Earth, with some areas having no living things at all.

• Underneath the ice, there are giant lakes hiding secrets about Earth’s past climate.

• Emperor penguins and tiny bugs somehow survive in this extreme cold.

• Antarctica isn’t just a desert, it’s also Earth’s fifth-biggest continent, covered in a giant ice sheet.

•  Climate change is causing the ice to melt, which could raise sea levels all over the world.

• Antarctica doesn’t belong to any one country. Scientists from all over the world work together to study and protect it.

Interesting facts about the Deserts in the world

S.No	Desert Name	Fact
1	Sahara Desert	Largest hot desert, spanning 9.2 million square kilometres in Northern Africa.
2	Antarctica Desert	Largest desert overall, covering a massive 14 million square kilometres. Also the coldest desert with average temperatures of -63°C.
3	Atacama Desert	One of the driest non-polar deserts, receiving less than 0.1 millimetres of rain annually in some areas.
4	Gobi Desert	Fifth-largest desert, known for its vast Gobi Steppe grasslands and rich dinosaur fossil beds.
5	Australian Outback	The arid region encompasses diverse landscapes like deserts, grasslands, and savannas. Home to unique Aboriginal cultures.
6	Kalahari Desert	The sixth-largest desert is famous for the world’s second-largest saltpan, the Makgadikgadi Pan.
7	Patagonian Desert	Located in South America, known for its strong winds, sparse vegetation, and unique rock formations.
8	Arabian Desert	Covering much of the Arabian Peninsula, it’s known for its vast sand seas and historical significance in trade routes.
9	Great Basin Desert	High-altitude deserts in North America, are characterized by basins and mountain ranges. Home to Death Valley, the lowest point in North America.
10	Mojave Desert	Desert in southwestern North America is known for its Joshua trees, cacti, and diverse plant and animal life.

Conclusion

A large dry area of land that receives very low precipitation like rain receives less than 25 centimetres (10 inches ) of rain and they can be found in both conditions either in hot or cold. Antarctica is the largest desert in the world it has a total area of 14 million square kilometres of dry land. The Sahara Desert is one of the largest and Hottest deserts in the world.

It has an area of 9.2 million kilometres. Antarctica is also the coldest desert in the world and it has an average temperature of -63°C. Antarctica’s frozen land holds most of the world’s freshwater (90%) in its massive ice sheets. This desert does not belong to any country rather It is governed by an International treaty, Antarctica is for scientific research and environmental protection.

Deserts in the World – FAQs

What are the 5 largest deserts in the world?

Antartic Desert ,Arctic Desert ,Sahara Desrt ,Arabian Desert and Gobi Desert are the 5 largest deserts in the world.

What is the hottest desert in the world?

Iran’s Lut Desert is home to the hottest recorded spot on the earth surface according to NASA satellite data of land surface temperature 70 degree celsius was recorded there in 2005.

Are there 33 deserts in the world?

The 33 major deserts areas on earth contain 71 deserts spread over our seven continents. Deserts are found all across the globe and cover about one third of our planet surface .

Which country is 90% desert?

Libya’s climate is Mediterranean along the coast and dry in the desert interior and more than 90% of country land is desert or semi desert.

Where is the coldest desert?

The largest desert on earth is Antartica which covers around 14.2 million square kilometers and It is also the coldest desert on Earth even colder than the planet’s other polar deserts the Arctic .