When going to the world's major deserts such as the Sahara in North Africa, people often bring a lot of jackets and sunscreen to avoid sunburn. But few people know that at night the temperature in the desert drops, very different from the day, so you also need to bring extra warm clothes. To know why the desert becomes cold at night, people can learn about the activities of the sand here.
At night, the temperature in the desert will drop.
Why does the desert get cold at night?
In arid deserts like the Sahara or the Atacama Desert in Chile, humidity, the amount of water vapor in the air, is practically zero. At the same time, unlike sand, water has a very large capacity to store heat. Therefore, when water vapor in the air holds heat close to the ground, it helps prevent this heat from being released into the atmosphere.
Air with high humidity also requires more energy to heat up, which means it takes longer for that energy to dissipate and cool down the surrounding environment. So the lack of humidity in deserts allows these arid places to heat up quickly but also cool down just as quickly.
Or to put it another way, at night, without the heat of the sun to warm up these vast sandbanks, the temperature will drop very quickly. Because everyone knows that the ability of sand to retain heat is very poor, so when it is not supplied with more heat, the old heat will be released. Therefore, sand is the main reason why the desert has this strange phenomenon.
Night temperatures in the desert can drop to 18 degrees Celsius.
When the air is extremely cold, it means that these sands do not have much moisture. The hot, dry deserts have an average annual temperature of 20 to 25 degrees Celsius, with peaks of 43 to 49.5 degrees Celsius during the day and minus 18 degrees Celsius at night.
As a result, most of the plants that grow here are short and stout, such as shrubs close to the ground, and there are few large mammals because they are often unable to store enough water. At the same time, in places like deserts, rainfall is very low and there are no large trees to provide shade, making it difficult to live.
Some species of animals and plants live in the desert.
Despite the erratic temperature changes in desert regions, many animals and plants have adapted and thrived. However, these species still face some unavoidable difficulties such as finding food and water sources during times of high temperatures.
Reptiles, known as the most abundant and diverse group of animals in the desert, are well adapted to extreme temperature changes. Because they are cold-blooded, they do not need to seek out energy to maintain a stable body temperature. Their small bodies also help many reptiles find shady corners during the day or warmer rocks at night.
Camels thrive in desert environments.
However, large warm-blooded or endothermic mammals like camels have such large bodies that it is difficult to find shelter from the sun and to reduce their body temperature. Camels, however, can maintain a stable body temperature in both hot and cold temperatures. Because their bodies have many layers of insulation in the form of fat and thick fur, they do not absorb too much heat during the day and lose too much at night.
Plants, on the other hand, are more vulnerable in desert environments because they cannot move. That is why iconic desert plants, such as cacti, have developed a variety of defenses such as thorns and toxins to protect their precious water from predators.
Tuyet Anh (Source: Synthesis)
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