The Sahara (/ səˈhɑːrə /, / səˈhærə /; Arabic: ‫الصحراء الكبرى‬, aṣ-ṣaḥrāʼ al-kubrá, 'the Greatest

Desert') is a desert located on the African continent. It is the largest hot desert in the
world, and the third largest desert overall after Antarctica and the Arctic.[1] Its area of
9,200,000 square kilometres (3,600,000 sq mi)[2] is comparable to the area of China or
the United States.[3] The name 'Sahara' is derived from a dialectal Arabic word for
"desert", ṣaḥra (‫ صحرا‬/ˈsˤaħra/).[4][5][6][7]

The desert comprises much of North Africa, excluding the fertile region on
the Mediterranean Sea coast, the Atlas Mountains of the Maghreb, and the Nile
Valley in Egypt and Sudan. It stretches from the Red Sea in the east and the Mediterranean
in the north to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, where the landscape gradually changes
from desert to coastal plains. To the south, it is bounded by the Sahel, a belt of semi-arid
tropical savanna around the Niger River valley and the Sudan Region of Sub-Saharan
Africa. The Sahara can be divided into several regions including: the western Sahara, the
central Ahaggar Mountains, the Tibesti Mountains, the Aïr Mountains, the Ténéré desert,
and the Libyan Desert.

For several hundred thousand years, the Sahara has alternated between desert and
savanna grassland in a 20,000 year cycle[8] caused by the precession of the Earth's axis as
it rotates around the Sun, which changes the location of the North African Monsoon. The
area is next expected to become green in about 15,000 years (17,000 AD).

Geography

A geographical map of Africa, showing the ecological break that defines the Saharan area

An oasis in the Ahaggar Mountains. Oases support some life forms in extremely arid deserts.

An intense Saharan dust storm sent an extensive dust plume northwestward over the Atlantic
Ocean on 2 March 2003

Butte naturally sculpted by the wind

The Sahara covers large parts

The Sahara is mainly rocky hamada (stone plateaus); ergs (sand seas – large areas
covered with sand dunes) form only a minor part, but many of the sand dunes are over
180 metres (590 ft) high.[9] Wind or rare rainfall shape the desert features: sand dunes,
dune fields, sand seas, stone plateaus, gravel plains (reg), dry valleys (wadi), dry
lakes (oued), and salt flats (shatt or chott).[10] Unusual landforms include the Richat
Structure in Mauritania.
Several deeply dissected mountains, many volcanic, rise from the desert, including the Aïr
Mountains, Ahaggar Mountains, Saharan Atlas, Tibesti Mountains, Adrar des Iforas, and
the Red Sea Hills. The highest peak in the Sahara is Emi Koussi, a shield volcano in
the Tibesti range of northern Chad.

The central Sahara is hyperarid, with sparse vegetation. The northern and southern
reaches of the desert, along with the highlands, have areas of sparse grassland and desert
shrub, with trees and taller shrubs in wadis, where moisture collects. In the central,
hyperarid region, there are many subdivisions of the great desert: Tanezrouft, the Ténéré,
the Libyan Desert, the Eastern Desert, the Nubian Desert and others. These extremely arid
areas often receive no rain for years.

To the north, the Sahara skirts the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt and portions of Libya, but
in Cyrenaica and the Maghreb, the Sahara borders the Mediterranean forest, woodland,
and scrub eco-regions of northern Africa, all of which have a Mediterranean
climate characterized by hot summers and cool and rainy winters. According to the
botanical criteria of Frank White[11] and geographer Robert Capot-Rey,[12][13] the northern
limit of the Sahara corresponds to the northern limit of date palm cultivation and the
southern limit of the range of esparto, a grass typical of the Mediterranean climate portion
of the Maghreb and Iberia. The northern limit also corresponds to the 100 mm
(3.9 in) isohyet of annual precipitation.[14]
To the south, the Sahara is bounded by the Sahel, a belt of dry tropical savanna with a
summer rainy season that extends across Africa from east to west. The southern limit of
the Sahara is indicated botanically by the southern limit of Cornulaca monacantha (a
drought-tolerant member of the Chenopodiaceae), or northern limit of Cenchrus biflorus,
a grass typical of the Sahel.[12][13] According to climatic criteria, the southern limit of the
Sahara corresponds to the 150 mm (5.9 in) isohyet of annual precipitation (this is a long-
term average, since precipitation varies annually).[14]
Important cities located in the Sahara include Nouakchott, the capital of
Mauritania; Tamanrasset, Ouargla, Béchar, Hassi Messaoud, Ghardaïa, and El Oued in
Algeria; Timbuktu in Mali; Agadez in Niger; Ghat in Libya; and Faya-Largeau in Chad.

Climate
The Sahara is the world's largest low-latitude hot desert. It is located in the horse
latitudes under the subtropical ridge, a significant belt of semi-permanent subtropical
warm-core high pressure where the air from upper levels of the troposphere tends to sink
towards the ground. This steady descending airflow causes a warming and a drying effect
in the upper troposphere. The sinking air prevents evaporating water from rising, and
therefore prevents adiabatic cooling, which makes cloud formation extremely difficult to
nearly impossible.[15]
The permanent dissolution of clouds allows unhindered light and thermal radiation.
The stability of the atmosphere above the desert prevents any convective overturning,
thus making rainfall virtually non-existent. As a consequence, the weather tends to be
sunny, dry and stable with a minimal chance of rainfall. Subsiding, diverging, dry air
masses associated with subtropical high-pressure systems are extremely unfavorable for
the development of convectional showers. The subtropical ridge is the predominant factor
that explains the hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh) of this vast region.
The descending airflow is the strongest and the most effective over the eastern part of the
Great Desert, in the Libyan Desert: this is the sunniest, driest and the most nearly
"rainless" place on the planet, rivaling the Atacama Desert, lying in Chile and Peru.

The rainfall inhibition and the dissipation of cloud cover are most accentuated over the
eastern section of the Sahara rather than the western. The prevailing air mass lying above
the Sahara is the continental tropical (cT) air mass, which is hot and dry. Hot, dry air
masses primarily form over the North-African desert from the heating of the vast
continental land area, and it affects the whole desert during most of the year. Because of
this extreme heating process, a thermal low is usually noticed near the surface, and is the
strongest and the most developed during the summertime. The Sahara High represents
the eastern continental extension of the Azores High,[citation needed] centered over the North
Atlantic Ocean. The subsidence of the Sahara High nearly reaches the ground during the
coolest part of the year, while it is confined to the upper troposphere during the hottest
periods.
The effects of local surface low pressure are extremely limited because upper-level
subsidence still continues to block any form of air ascent. Also, to be protected against
rain-bearing weather systems by the atmospheric circulation itself, the desert is made
even drier by its geographical configuration and location. Indeed, the extreme aridity of
the Sahara is not only explained by the subtropical high pressure: the Atlas Mountains of
Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia also help to enhance the aridity of the northern part of the
desert. These major mountain ranges act as a barrier, causing a strong rain shadow effect
on the leeward side by dropping much of the humidity brought by atmospheric
disturbances along the polar front which affects the surrounding Mediterranean climates.

The primary source of rain in the Sahara is the Intertropical Convergence Zone, a
continuous belt of low-pressure systems near the equator which bring the brief, short and
irregular rainy season to the Sahel and southern Sahara. Rainfall in this giant desert has to
overcome the physical and atmospheric barriers that normally prevent the production of
precipitation. The harsh climate of the Sahara is characterized by: extremely low,
unreliable, highly erratic rainfall; extremely high sunshine duration values; high
temperatures year-round; negligible rates of relative humidity; a significant diurnal
temperature variation; and extremely high levels of potential evaporation which are the
highest recorded worldwide.[16]

Temperature
The sky is usually clear above the desert, and the sunshine duration is extremely high
everywhere in the Sahara. Most of the desert has more than 3,600 hours of bright
sunshine per year (over 82% of daylight hours), and a wide area in the eastern part has
over 4,000 hours of bright sunshine per year (over 91% of daylight hours). The highest
values are very close to the theoretical maximum value. A value of 4300 hours (98%) of
the time would be[clarification needed] recorded in Upper Egypt (Aswan, Luxor) and in the
Nubian Desert (Wadi Halfa).[17] The annual average direct solar irradiation is around 2,800
kWh/(m2 year) in the Great Desert. The Sahara has a huge potential for solar energy
production.

Sand dunes in the Sahara

The high position of the Sun, the extremely low relative humidity, and the lack
of vegetation and rainfall make the Great Desert the hottest large region in the world, and
the hottest place on Earth during summer in some spots. The average high temperature
exceeds 38 to 40 °C or 100.4 to 104.0 °F during the hottest month nearly everywhere in
the desert except at very high altitudes. The world's highest officially recorded average
daily high temperature[clarification needed] was 47 °C or 116.6 °F in a remote desert town in
the Algerian Desert called Bou Bernous, at an elevation of 378 metres (1,240 ft) above sea
level,[17] and only Death Valley, California rivals it.[18] Other hot spots in Algeria such
as Adrar, Timimoun, In Salah, Ouallene, Aoulef, Reggane with an elevation between 200
and 400 metres (660 and 1,310 ft) above sea level get slightly lower summer average
highs, around 46 °C or 114.8 °F during the hottest months of the year. Salah, well known
in Algeria for its extreme heat, has average high temperatures of 43.8 °C or 110.8 °F,
46.4 °C or 115.5 °F, 45.5 °C or 113.9 °F and 41.9 °C or 107.4 °F in June, July, August and
September respectively. There are even hotter spots in the Sahara, but they are located in
extremely remote areas, especially in the Azalai, lying in northern Mali. The major part of
the desert experiences around three to five months when the average high
strictly[clarification needed] exceeds 40 °C or 104 °F; while in the southern central part of the
desert, there are up to six or seven months when the average high temperature
strictly[clarification needed] exceeds 40 °C or 104 °F. Some examples of this are Bilma, Niger
and Faya-Largeau, Chad. The annual average daily temperature exceeds 20 °C or 68 °F
everywhere and can approach 30 °C or 86 °F in the hottest regions year-round. However,
most of the desert has a value in excess of 25 °C or 77 °F.

Sunset in Sahara

Sand and ground temperatures are even more extreme. During daytime, the sand
temperature is extremely high: it can easily reach 80 °C or 176 °F or more.[19] A sand
temperature of 83.5 °C (182.3 °F) has been recorded in Port Sudan.[19] Ground
temperatures of 72 °C or 161.6 °F have been recorded in the Adrar of Mauritania and a
value of 75 °C (167 °F) has been measured in Borkou, northern Chad.[19]
Due to lack of cloud cover and very low humidity, the desert usually has high diurnal
temperature variations between days and nights. However, it is a myth that the nights are
cold after extremely hot days in the Sahara. The average diurnal temperature range is
typically between 13 and 20 °C or 23.4 and 36.0 °F. The lowest values are found along the
coastal regions due to high humidity and are often even lower than 10 °C or 18 °F, while
the highest values are found in inland desert areas where the humidity is the lowest,
mainly in the southern Sahara. Still, it is true that winter nights can be cold as it can drop
to the freezing point and even below, especially in high-elevation areas. The frequency of
subfreezing winter nights in the Sahara is strongly influenced by the North Atlantic
Oscillation (NAO), with warmer winter temperatures during negative NAO events and
cooler winters with more frosts when the NAO is positive.[20] This is because the weaker
clockwise flow around the eastern side of the subtropical anticyclone during negative NAO
winters, although too dry to produce more than negligible precipitation, does reduce the
flow of dry, cold air from higher latitudes of Eurasia into the Sahara significantly. [21]

Precipitation
The average annual rainfall ranges from very low in the northern and southern fringes of
the desert to nearly non-existent over the central and the eastern part. The thin northern
fringe of the desert receives more winter cloudiness and rainfall due to the arrival of low
pressure systems over the Mediterranean Sea along the polar front, although very
attenuated by the rain shadow effects of the mountains and the annual average rainfall
ranges from 100 millimetres (4 in) to 250 millimetres (10 in). For example, Biskra, Algeria,
and Ouarzazate, Morocco, are found in this zone. The southern fringe of the desert along
the border with the Sahel receives summer cloudiness and rainfall due to the arrival of the
Intertropical Convergence Zone from the south and the annual average rainfall ranges
from 100 millimetres (4 in) to 250 millimetres (10 in). For example, Timbuktu, Mali
and Agadez, Niger are found in this zone. The vast central hyper-arid core of the desert is
virtually never affected by northerly or southerly atmospheric disturbances and
permanently remains under the influence of the strongest anticyclonic weather regime,
and the annual average rainfall can drop to less than 1 millimetre (0.04 in). In fact, most of
the Sahara receives less than 20 millimetres (0.8 in). Of the 9,000,000 square kilometres
(3,500,000 sq mi) of desert land in the Sahara, an area of about 2,800,000 square
kilometres (1,100,000 sq mi) (about 31% of the total area) receives an annual average
rainfall amount of 10 millimetres (0.4 in) or less, while some 1,500,000 square kilometres
(580,000 sq mi) (about 17% of the total area) receives an average of 5 millimetres (0.2 in)
or less.[22] The annual average rainfall is virtually zero over a wide area of some 1,000,000
square kilometres (390,000 sq mi) in the eastern Sahara comprising deserts of: Libya,
Egypt and Sudan (Tazirbu, Kufra, Dakhla, Kharga, Farafra, Siwa, Asyut, Sohag, Luxor,
Aswan, Abu Simbel, Wadi Halfa) where the long-term mean approximates 0.5 millimetres
(0.02 in) per year.[22] Rainfall is very unreliable and erratic in the Sahara as it may vary
considerably year by year. In full contrast to the negligible annual rainfall amounts, the
annual rates of potential evaporation are extraordinarily high, roughly ranging from 2,500
millimetres (100 in) per year to more than 6,000 millimetres (240 in) per year in the whole
desert.[23] Nowhere else on Earth has air been found as dry and evaporative as in the
Sahara region. However, at least two instances of snowfall have been recorded in Sahara,
in February 1979 and December 2016, both in the town of Ain Sefra.[24]
Desertification and prehistoric climate
Main articles: Sahara pump theory, African humid period, Prehistoric North Africa,
and North African climate cycles

One theory for the formation of the Sahara is that the monsoon in Northern Africa was
weakened because of glaciation during the Quaternary period, starting two or three million
years ago. Another theory is that the monsoon was weakened when the ancient Tethys
Sea dried up during the Tortonian period around 7 million years.[25]
The climate of the Sahara has undergone enormous variations between wet and dry over
the last few hundred thousand years,[26] believed to be caused by long-term changes in
the North African climate cycle that alters the path of the North African Monsoon – usually
southward. The cycle is caused by a 41000-year cycle in which the tilt of the earth
changes between 22° and 24.5°.[22] At present (2000 AD), we are in a dry period, but it is
expected that the Sahara will become green again in 15000 years (17000 AD). When the
North African monsoon is at its strongest annual precipitation and subsequent vegetation
in the Sahara region increase, resulting in conditions commonly referred to as the "green
Sahara". For a relatively weak North African monsoon, the opposite is true, with decreased
annual precipitation and less vegetation resulting in a phase of the Sahara climate cycle
known as the "desert Sahara".[27]
The idea that changes in insolation (solar heating) caused by long-term changes in the
Earth's orbit are a controlling factor for the long-term variations in the strength of monsoon
patterns across the globe was first suggested by Rudolf Spitaler in the late nineteenth
century,[28] The hypothesis was later formally proposed and tested by the meteorologist
John Kutzbach in 1981.[29] Kutzbach's ideas about the impacts of insolation on global
monsoonal patterns have become widely accepted today as the underlying driver of long
term monsoonal cycles. Kutzbach never formally named his hypothesis and as such it is
referred to here as the "Orbital Monsoon Hypothesis" as suggested by Ruddiman in 2001.
[28]

Sahel region of Mali

During the last glacial period, the Sahara was much larger than it is today, extending south
beyond its current boundaries.[30] The end of the glacial period brought more rain to the
Sahara, from about 8000 BCE to 6000 BCE, perhaps because of low pressure areas over
the collapsing ice sheets to the north.[31] Once the ice sheets were gone, the northern
Sahara dried out. In the southern Sahara, the drying trend was initially counteracted by
the monsoon, which brought rain further north than it does today. By around 4200 BCE,
however, the monsoon retreated south to approximately where it is today, [32] leading to
the gradual desertification of the Sahara.[33] The Sahara is now as dry as it was about
13,000 years ago.[26]
The Sahara pump theory describes this cycle. During periods of a wet or "Green Sahara",
the Sahara becomes a savanna grassland and various flora and fauna become more
common. Following inter-pluvial arid periods, the Sahara area then reverts to desert
conditions and the flora and fauna are forced to retreat northwards to the Atlas Mountains,
southwards into West Africa, or eastwards into the Nile Valley. This
separates populations of some of the species in areas with different climates, forcing them
to adapt, possibly giving rise to allopatric speciation.

It is also proposed that humans accelerated the drying out period from 6,000–2,500 BCE
by pastoralists overgrazing available grassland.[34]
Evidence for cycles
The growth of speleothems (which requires rainwater) was detected in Hol-Zakh, Ashalim,
Even-Sid, Ma'ale-ha-Meyshar, Ktora Cracks, Nagev Tzavoa Cave, and elsewhere, and has
allowed tracking of prehistoric rainfall. The Red Sea coastal route was extremely arid
before 140 and after 115 kya. Slightly wetter conditions appear at 90–87 kya, but it still
was just one tenth the rainfall around 125 kya. In the southern Negev Desert speleothems
did not grow between 185–140 kya (MIS 6), 110–90 (MIS 5.4–5.2), nor after 85 kya nor
during most of the interglacial period (MIS 5.1), the glacial period and Holocene. This
suggests that the southern Negev was arid to hyper-arid in these periods. [35]
During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) the Sahara desert was more extensive than it is
now with the extent of the tropical forests being greatly reduced, [36] and the lower
temperatures reduced the strength of the Hadley Cell. This is a climate cell which causes
rising tropical air of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) to bring rain to the tropics,
while dry descending air, at about 20 degrees north, flows back to the equator and brings
desert conditions to this region. It is associated with high rates of wind-blown mineral dust,
and these dust levels are found as expected in marine cores from the north tropical
Atlantic. But around 12,500 BCE the amount of dust in the cores in
the Bølling/Allerød phase suddenly plummets and shows a period of much wetter
conditions in the Sahara, indicating a Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) event (a sudden warming
followed by a slower cooling of the climate). The moister Saharan conditions had begun
about 12,500 BCE, with the extension of the ITCZ northward in the northern hemisphere
summer, bringing moist wet conditions and a savanna climate to the Sahara, which (apart
from a short dry spell associated with the Younger Dryas) peaked during the Holocene
thermal maximum climatic phase at 4000 BCE when mid-latitude temperatures seem to
have been between 2 and 3 degrees warmer than in the recent past. Analysis of Nile
River deposited sediments in the delta also shows this period had a higher proportion of
sediments coming from the Blue Nile, suggesting higher rainfall also in the Ethiopian
Highlands. This was caused principally by a stronger monsoonal circulation throughout the
sub-tropical regions, affecting India, Arabia and the Sahara. [citation needed] Lake Victoria only
recently became the source of the White Nile and dried out almost completely around 15
kya.[37]
The sudden subsequent movement of the ITCZ southwards with a Heinrich event (a
sudden cooling followed by a slower warming), linked to changes with the El Niño-Southern
Oscillation cycle, led to a rapid drying out of the Saharan and Arabian regions, which
quickly became desert. This is linked to a marked decline in the scale of the Nile floods
between 2700 and 2100 BCE.[38]