Why in the desert at night is cold, and the day of heat?

And if the day in the sand is unbearably hot, the desert is not just "cool".

Why in the desert at night is cold, and the day of heat?

In the biggest desert in the world of Sahara (about seven million kilometers!) at night there may be even frosts. Strange, yes? Let’s figure it out why in the desert at night cold? Why is this happening?

Deserts are formed there, where the amount of precipitation does not exceed 80 millimeters per year. By the way, the fact that the desert is covered with sand is delusion. In fact, most of them have stony surfaces, grieved gravel. In other words, air and soil in the resulting waste of very dry. Because of this, over the desert itself, there is practically no water vapor.

Camels and Explorer in Sahara

So what happens?

In the afternoon the sun heats the surface of the desert. Due to the actual absence of clouds and a scanty plant world, there are no shadows, so the rays actively affect the sand and stones that are heated. Since the soil is dry, its heat capacity and thermal conductivity are low, the surface zone is heated.

There comes night and sand with a rocky surface quickly cool – heat evaporates, and he has nowhere to linger, since the air is dry, and not wet. There is no greenhouse effect, so heat is very fast from the ground, and the cold is lack of heat. Schematically, this phenomenon described on video.

So, if you suddenly come together to visit Gobi or Wadi-Ram, do not forget to take water, Chalma and thermal underwear. And it is better to take a camel with me – a warm animal will help move around and protect from cold at night. Yes, and together more fun..

By the way, sometimes in January 2018 in the Algerian part of the Sahara, the real snow fell, which happens only a few times in the century.