Climate (Temperature and Rainfall) of Hot Deserts

Hot Deserts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjaVm0vs2HY
A desert is a region that receives an extremely low amount of rain (less than 250mm
per year) or any other form of moisture. There is too little water for most plants to
grow. It is difficult to live there.
Did you know?

The largest desert is the Sahara Desert in North Africa.
The driest desert is the Atacama Desert in Chile.
The oldest desert is the Namib in Namibia.
The location of hot deserts of the world
Climate (temperature and rainfall) of hot deserts

Hot deserts are very hot. The average day time temperatures are above 30˚C but it
can get a lot hotter in a desert to above 50˚C. Hot deserts are found in areas that
have very low rainfall. This means only between 10mm and 200mm of rain falls on
average in a year.
Think about this:

Even though it is so difficult, some plants and animals have adapted to live in very
hot deserts. Think of what you do to stay cool when it is very hot. You wear a hat,
cotton clothes and may put up an umbrella to give you shade. Or you stay indoors
and don’t do too much activity. This is how many plants and animals live in the hot
deserts.
In reality quite a few animals have worked out how to live in deserts. They remain
hidden during daylight hours to control body temperature. By being still they will also
need less water. They get moisture from the prey they eat. Lizards and scorpions
are particularly well adapted to desert life.
Scorpion Lizard
How people live in hot deserts

Deserts are well known for their lack of water but some groups of people have
adapted ways to find water in this harsh environment. For example, the Bedouin
people turn over half buried stones just before dawn, so dew forms on them.
Did you know?
The camel is called the ship of the desert. Camels are ideally suited to Deserts
because they can walk for three days without having a drink.
The Bedouin Lifestyle

Most of the people living in the Sahara Desert today are nomads who move from
one area to another. This means there are many different nationalities and
languages in the region but most people speak Arabic.
A group of people called Bedouins live in tents which are cool and shady in the hot
desert. An oasis is a water source in the desert that provides water for humans and
animals.
The Bedouins use camels to carry their belongings across the desert.
The Nomads and Bedouins transported salt, spices, gold and ivory between the east
and the west through the desert using camels. Timbuktu is a famous trading town,
in the Sahara Desert, in the country of Mali.
Traditionally people have been able to live in deserts by hunting and gathering. The
Khoisan and the Aborigines of the Australia deserts are such people. Settlements in
deserts are found next to permanent water sources such as rivers and oases. The
city of Cairo is on the Nile River which flows through the Sahara Desert.
Activity 1:
1. What is the largest desert?

_________________________________
2. What is the driest desert?
_________________________________
3. What is the oldest desert?
_________________________________
Case Study: The San of the Kalahari Desert
The San are

hunter gatherers. They gather fruits from baobab and morula trees and find berries
and roots to eat. They hunt buck with bows and arrows. They make the poison for
their arrows from beetles, snakes, scorpions and spiders.
The San know how to survive on very little water. Water is very hard to find so it is
precious. They suck water from underground through reeds. They store water in
ostrich egg shells. They also get moisture from tsamma melons and sometimes
drink water from the stomachs of buck. Sadly, many San have left the desert and
moved into town.
Case Study: The Taureg

of the Sahara
The Taureg are nomads who live in the

Sahara Desert. They keep herds of
cattle, goats and sheep. They use
donkeys and camels to carry their
goods and themselves through the
desert. They travel from one water
source to the next.
Their water sources are deep under the ground. They have dug wells to reach the
water. Some of these wells are 60 metres deep. They get the water to the surface
in a leather bag.
The Taureg get food from their animals. They drink their milk and kill a sheep or
goat to eat on special occasions. They also use their animals to make all the goods
they need. They sew together the skins to make their tents and carry their water in
leather bags. When they reach a town they trade animals for rice, tea, sugar and
salt.
Activity 2:
Use case studies to compare the San and the Taureg in table format.
1. Compare how the San and the Taureg get their water.
2. Compare how the San and Taureg store their water.
3. Compare what the San and Taureg eat.
4. Compare how the San and Taureg travel from place to place.
San Taureg
How did they get
their water?
How did they

store their water?
What did they

eat?
How did they

travel for place to
place?
Did you know?
The annual rainfall in the Sahara Desert is below 25mm per year. Even in the
Sahara’s wettest areas it may rain twice in one week and then not rain again for
years. The average annual temperature for the Sahara
Desert is 30˚ C but during the hottest months’ temperatures can go over 50˚C.
Timbuktu is a city in Mali on the edge of the Sahara Desert.
Living in Timbuktu
People first settled in Timbuktu over 1000 years ago. It was a major centre on the
caravan routes between north and south Sahara. Irrigation projects allow farmers to
grow crops here.
Houses are built out of natural materials and can withstand the desert heat
Temperature and rainfall graphs: Temperature (⁰C) is measured using the

numbers on the left hand side of the chart. The average temperature for each month
is plotted on the graph with a red dot and the dots are then connected in a smooth,
red line. Rainfall (mm) is measured using the numbers on the right hand side of the
chart. The average rainfall for each month is plotted on the graph with a blue bar.
Activity 3:
Look at the rainfall and temperature graph for Timbuktu on the previous page.
Find Timbuktu in the atlas. Then, answer these questions:
1. Describe the geographical position of Timbuktu: It is (north/south) of the

equator in the (western/eastern) side of (name the continent)? It is on the
(southern/northern) edge of the Sahara Desert?
2. What is the highest temperature and in which month does it occur?
3. What is the lowest temperature and in which month does it occur?
4. What is the temperature range?
5. What is the highest rainfall month?
6. Calculate the average annual rainfall for Timbuktu.
7. Can you explain why the average rainfall is much higher than the average for
the Sahara Desert?
8. Complete the summary about Timbuktu.
9. Timbuktu is situated in the ____________ nature region.
10. This natural region has (high/low) rainfall throughout the year. The
temperatures are (below 25˚C) for the year.
11. The temperature range is ________ ˚C.
Natural vegetation and wildlife in a desert
Because of the high temperatures and arid (dry) conditions of the Sahara Desert, the
plant life is sparse and includes only around 500 species. These are mainly types of
plant that are drought and heat resistant.
Plants have adapted to the heat and dryness

by:
• Growing long roots.
• Having few leaves; and
• Storing water in leaves and stems.
The harsh conditions and dust storms in the

Sahara Desert affect what types of animals are able
to survive there. In the central driest part of the desert, there are only about 70
different animal species.
Animals have adapted to the desert by:

• Hunting at night when it is cool;
• Living underground by day;
• Reducing the amount of water, they lose from their bodies

• Having large ears with lots of tiny blood vessels - heat escapes from the blood
vessels.
• This helps cool their bodies. Panting also helps them to lose body heat.
Activity 4:
On the next lined page create 2 separate mind maps to show how animals
and plants have adapted to living in desert conditions.

Climate (Temperature and Rainfall) of Hot Deserts

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Hot Deserts

Did you know?

The location of hot deserts of the world

Climate (temperature and rainfall) of hot deserts

Think about this:

How people live in hot deserts

Did you know?

The Bedouin Lifestyle

1. What is the largest desert?

The San are

Case Study: The Taureg

The Taureg are nomads who live in the

2. Compare how the San and Taureg store their water.

3. Compare what the San and Taureg eat.

How did they

What did they

How did they

Temperature and rainfall graphs: Temperature (⁰C) is measured using the

1. Describe the geographical position of Timbuktu: It is (north/south) of the

Natural vegetation and wildlife in a desert

Plants have adapted to the heat and dryness

• Having few leaves; and

• Storing water in leaves and stems.

The harsh conditions and dust storms in the

Animals have adapted to the desert by:

• Living underground by day;

• Reducing the amount of water, they lose from their bodies

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