Hot deserts are usually warm throughout the year, and very hot in the summer. The surfaces of desert regions receive twice as much solar radiation in comparison to humid regions. As a result, it causes them to lose twice as much heat at night. The temperature in this region ranges from 68 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. On exceedingly sunny days, the temperature reaches between 110.3 to 120.2 degrees Fahrenheit. The rainfall in this region is very low and there are often long rainless periods. Some hot and dry deserts include the Chihuahuan, Great Basin, Mojave, Sahara, Sonoran, and other deserts in various locations in Australia, Ethiopia, the South Asian Realm, and South and Central America. The Sahara desert is the largest hot desert.
Cold deserts are those deserts with very cold winters and short, moderately warm summers. The precipitation in some cold deserts, like the Antarctic, fall in the form of snow. The Antarctic desert is considered a desert because the annual precipitation is less than 10 inches. This desert is also the largest overall desert. Any snow that falls in the Antarctic dessert does not evaporate; rather it piles up to form huge ice sheets. Other cold deserts include Atacama, Gobi, Namib, Takla Makan, and Turkestan.
The plants in deserts have adapted to the arid conditions found there. Some of their adaptations include a reduction in the size of the leaves. Some desert plants do not have any leaves, rather a modified spine which they use to conserve water and to protect themselves from animals that may want to eat them. More importantly, desert plants have an extensive root system which grows deep into the ground and taps into ground water, where it is available, or spreads out, and takes advantage of any rain that might fall. Desert plants also store water in their stems to help them through periods of drought. Examples of desert plants are different types of cacti.
Desert animals have adapted to the conditions in the desert too. Most of them are nocturnal, to avoid the heat of the day. Most of them also live in burrows where it is cooler and somewhat humid. They have slender bodies to help them shed heat. Animals, like the camel, have long lashes to protect their eyes from the sun and also store water in a hump on their backs. Desert toads estivate, meaning they remain dormant deep inside the ground until the rains fall, when they emerge to breed and lay eggs. The desert tortoise also estivate; they only emerge after it rains to mate, lay eggs, and replenish themselves for another long period of dormancy.
