The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world and the third-largest desert overall, behind the cold deserts of Antarctica and the Arctic. The Sahara is one of the harshest environments on Earth, covering 3.6 million square miles (9.4 million square kilometers), an area about the size of the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii) and spanning nearly a third of the African continent.
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.
1:06 The Sahara Desert is renowned for its barren, arid landscapes that, in some areas, receive just a few inches (tens of millimeters) of rain per year. Still, when it rains in the world’s largest non-polar desert, it can most certainly pour.
Errachidia, a desert city in southeast Morocco, recorded nearly 3 inches of rainfall, most of it across just two days last month. That’s more than four times the normal rainfall for the whole month of September, and equates to more than half a year’s worth for this area.
Sahara Desert show large lakes etched into rolling sand dunes after one of the most arid, barren places in the world was hit with its first floods in decades.
The Sahara is the hottest desert in the world - with one of the harshest climates. The average annual temperature is 30°C, whilst the hottest temperature ever recorded was 58°C. The area receives little rainfall, in fact, half of the Sahara Desert receives less than 1 inch of rain every year.
The Sahara does experience rain, but usually just a few inches a year and rarely in late summer. Over two days in September, however, intense rain fell in parts of the desert in southeast Morocco, after a low pressure system pushed across northwestern Sahara. Preliminary NASA satellite data showed nearly 8 inches of rain in some parts of the region.
people do live in the Sahara desert, but the population is very less due to extreme weather conditions and lack of water. Just around 2 million people live in the Sahara desert which spans 9.2 million square kilometres. People who live in the Sahara desert are predominantly nomads.
In the 21st century, recognition that the Sahara and its border region to the south, the Sahel, were creeping southward owing to desertification led to efforts to stall that movement; most notable was the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel Initiative. The idea that led to the initiative-planting a “wall” of trees along the edges of the Sahara that would stretch across the African continent in order to halt further desertification-was first conceived in 2005 and was later further developed with the assistance of the African Union and other international organizations.
Saharan vegetation is generally sparse, with scattered concentrations of grasses, shrubs, and trees in the highlands, in oasis depressions, and along the wadis. Various halophytes (salt-tolerant plants) are found in saline depressions. Some heat- and drought-tolerant grasses, herbs, small shrubs, and trees are found on the less well-watered plains and plateaus of the Sahara.
The world's largest hot desert, the Sahara, is being hit with unusually heavy rain. Scientists are unclear why, but it may be linked to a subdued Atlantic hurricane season.
Yes - The Sahara does experience rain, but usually just a few inches a year and rarely in late summer. Over two days in September, however, intense rain fell in parts of the desert in southeast Morocco, after a low pressure system pushed across northwestern Sahara.
The Western Sahara is an area where the legal status of the territory and the issue of its sovereignty remain unresolved. The area was long the site of armed conflict between Moroccan government forces and the POLISARIO Front, which continues to seek independence for the territory. However, a cease-fire has been fully in effect since 1991 in the UN-administered area. There are thousands of unexploded mines in the Western Sahara and in areas of Mauritania adjacent to the Western Saharan border.
extreme rainfall events could be expected in the Sahara in the future, according to recent research, as fossil fuel pollution continues to heat up the planet and disrupt the water cycle.
people do live in the Sahara desert, but the population is very less due to extreme weather conditions and lack of water. Just around 2 million people live in the Sahara desert which spans 9.2 million square kilometres. People who live in the Sahara desert are predominantly nomads.
