Hot Deserts
A hot desert is an arid environment that receives less than about 250 mm of rain a year and experiences very high daytime temperatures with a large daily temperature range.
Before you start
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Method
- Learn the climate that defines a hot desert: less than 250 mm of rain a year, high daytime temperatures and a large daily (diurnal) temperature range.
- Learn named plant and animal adaptations to heat and water scarcity, and link each adaptation to the specific problem it solves.
- Learn the global distribution of hot deserts, roughly 15-30 degrees north and south of the equator, and the high-pressure conditions that cause it.
- Learn the opportunities hot deserts offer for development, such as minerals, energy, irrigated farming and tourism, and the challenges they present, such as extreme heat, water scarcity, remoteness and shifting sand.
- Learn a named hot desert case study, such as the Thar Desert, with specific, accurate evidence for both opportunities and challenges.
- Learn the causes of desertification at desert margins and the strategies used to reduce the risk, such as shelter belts and appropriate irrigation technology.
- Practise reading and calculating from climate graphs and simple statistics, such as population density, showing your working.
Worked example
A textbook states that hot deserts cover approximately 20% of the Earth's total land surface. If Earth's total land area is approximately 149 million km2, calculate the approximate area of the Earth's land surface covered by hot deserts, to the nearest million km2.
- Write 20% as a decimal: 20 / 100 = 0.2.
- Multiply this by the total land area: 0.2 x 149 million km2.
- Calculate the result: 0.2 x 149 = 29.8 million km2.
- Round to the nearest million km2 for the final answer: approximately 30 million km2.
Practice questions
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Q1What annual rainfall total is generally used to define a hot desert climate?Show answer
Answer: Less than 250 mm of rain per year.
Q2Give one climatic feature of a hot desert other than low rainfall.Show answer
Answer: A large daily (diurnal) temperature range, or very high daytime temperatures, often above 40 degrees C in summer.
Q3Name one animal adaptation that helps a desert species survive extreme heat.Show answer
Answer: Being nocturnal, so the animal is active at night and shelters from the heat during the day.
Q4Give one plant adaptation that reduces water loss in a hot desert.Show answer
Answer: Small, waxy or spine-like leaves, which reduce the surface area available for water loss through transpiration.
Q5Between which lines of latitude are most of the world's hot deserts found?Show answer
Answer: Roughly 15 to 30 degrees north and south of the equator.
Q6Give one human activity that can cause desertification at the edge of a hot desert.Show answer
Answer: Overgrazing by livestock, which removes the vegetation that holds the soil together.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Geography exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Table 5 gives average monthly rainfall for four months at a hot desert location. January: 5 mm April: 4 mm July: 20 mm October: 6 mm The location's total annual rainfall is 100 mm. a) Calculate the total rainfall recorded across these four months. (1 mark) b) Calculate what percentage of the annual rainfall total these four months account for. (3 marks)
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Using a named hot desert environment you have studied, justify which is the greater obstacle to development: a lack of water, or a lack of infrastructure. Use specific evidence from your case study in your answer.
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See real GCSE Geography past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the hot deserts worksheet pack - 10 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
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