how much of the earth's land surface is desert

As it approaches the tropics, the air descends and warms up again. Far from being barren wastelands, deserts are biologically rich habitats with a vast array of animals and plants that have adapted to the harsh conditions there. However, it comes at a cost to the environment. That's right, an area doesn't have to be hot to qualify it just needs to lose more moisture than it gains. All rights reserved, largest hot desert in the world, northern Africa's Sahara, some deserts are always cold, like the Gobi desert in Asia, about 20 percent of deserts are covered by sand, studied them for clues about life on Mars, known as desertification, is not caused by drought, deforestation and the demands of human populations, threatens to change the ecology of deserts. Our World in Data is free and accessible for everyone. Throughout the Middle East, communities have dug artificial wadis, where freshwater can flow during rainy seasons. In fact, the largest cold desert in the world is the continent of Antarctica. However, sugar cane is also harvested in the deserts of Pakistan and Australia. This interactive map shows the total area of forest cover, as measured in hectares (ha). Even some of the deserts are also situated in the regions of mountains. Imagine a world without water. In the first story, it is said that from 210,000 BC they lived in Atlantis in peace and harmony. Long-sleeved, full-length, and often white, these robes shield all but the head and hands from the wind, sand, heat, and cold. The UNCCD has also promoted the Great Green Wall Initiative, an effort to restore 386,000 square miles (100 million hectares) across 20 countries in Africa by 2030. Winds at speeds of about 100 kilometers per hour (60 miles per hour) sweep through some deserts. When land becomes desert, its ability to support surrounding populations of people and animals declines sharply. This process, known as desertification, is not caused by drought, but usually arises from deforestation and the demands of human populations that settle on the semi-arid lands. Land is indispensable, and its quality is critical to its . Are these boots made from endangered elephants? This visualization looks at the breakdown of forests by type. Tiny changes on Earth's surface may precede big disruptions like the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake that left this rupture in the Mojave Desert in California. Playas, also called sinks, pans, or salt flats, can be hundreds of kilometers wide.The Black Rock Desert in the U.S. state of Nevada, for instance, is all that remains of the prehistoric Lake Lahontan. Small pores in the leaves, called stomata, take in carbon dioxide. The majority of the desert takes place in the area band situated along the 30 degrees latitude in North and 30 degrees latitude in the south. Dromedary camels, native to the Arabian and Sahara deserts, can lose up to 30 percent of their body weight without harm. 33,700 km 2 - 20,135 km 2 = 13,565 km 2. Beginning about 15 000 years ago continental glaciers retreated and sea level began to rise. The amount of evaporation in a desert often greatly exceeds the annual rainfall. The booming desert communities of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Californias Inland Empire are using water faster than the aquifer is being refilled. These cliff dwellings, sometimes dozens of meters off the ground, were constructed with thick, earthen walls that provided insulation. Antarctica boasts the lowest official temperature recorded on Earth: -89.2 C (-128.6 F), recorded on July 21, 1983. The amount of evaporation in a desert often greatly exceeds the annual rainfall. This method relies on cutting and burning forests to create fields for crops. FAO said the creation of the new database marks a "major improvement" in information regarding the physical characteristics of the Earth's surface. This visualization shows breakdown of global forest area by world region. Animal-friendly laws are gaining traction across the U.S. COVID-19 is more widespread in animals than we thought. The data produced by third parties and made available by Our World in Data is subject to the license terms from the original third-party authors. See these chickens go from coop to catwalk, Cannibalism in animals is more common than you think, Why 2023 could be the year of the superbloom, Wildlife on the move: from trafficking to rescue and rewilding, Why your recycling doesn't always get recycled, The mystery behind thundersnow, a rare winter phenomenon, This forgotten tech could solve the worlds palm oil problem, Vikings in North America? Yet more than one billion people, one-sixth of Earth's population, actually live in desert regions.What Is a Desert?Deserts cover more than one-fifth of Earth's land area, and they are found on every continent. Large areas of desert soil are irrigated by water pumped from underground sources or brought by canal from distant rivers or lakes. Humans are driving the transformation of drylands into desert on an unprecedented scale around the world, with serious consequences. Earth's name in English, the international language of astronomy, derives from Old English and Germanic words for . The yellow bloom of a prickly pear cactus brightens this view of a California desert. In the course of these activities, trees and other vegetation are cleared away, animal hooves pound the dirt, and crops deplete nutrients in the soil. As global temperatures rise and the human population expands, more of the planet is vulnerable to desertification, the permanent degradation of land that was once arable. Overtourism is threatening life on Burano, a bucolic island in the Venice Lagoon. Windbreaks made of trees have been planted throughout the Sahel, the southern border region of the Sahara Desert. The environmental impact of dams was not considered when the structures were built. We previously looked at total forest area across the world. The driest deserts, such as Chile's Atacama Desert, have parts that receive less than .08 inches (2 mm) of precipitation a year. In other words, about 30 percent of incoming solar radiation is reflected back into space and 70 percent is absorbed. In the deserts of the Middle East and Asia, nomadic tent communities continue to flourish. However, polar deserts (Antarctica and Greenland) cover around 5 milion km - this means an area larger than all the countries of the European Union together. How are our forests distributed across the world regions? The study analyzed three factors to assess the integrity and intactness of Earth's ecosystems. Land surface temperature is a measurement of how hot the land is to the touch. Deserts usually have a large diurnal and seasonal temperature range, with high daytime temperatures falling sharply at night. All of our charts can be embedded in any site. There are generally two versions of the answer to this question. Seeking greater economic opportunities, farmers in Madagascar engaged in slash-and-burn agriculture. Our World In Data is a project of the Global Change Data Lab, a registered charity in England and Wales (Charity Number 1186433). They look like tiny tornadoes, but they start on the ground rather than in the sky. These windbreaks anchor the soil and prevent sand from invading populated areas.In Chinas Tengger Desert, researchers have developed another way to control wandering dunes. They define a tree as a plant with woody stems larger than 10 cm diameter at breast height (DBH). The temperature stays high even at night, making the city an island of heat in the middle of the desert. The percentage of land vertebrates that face extreme events totalling over half a year for the projections SSP3-7.0 and SSP2-4.5 is 3.5% (1,178 species), and 1.2% (437 species), respectively . An abaya is a sleeveless cloak that protects the wearer from dust and heat. This whirling column of hot air picks up dust and dirt. The Tropic of Capricorn passes thru its . Food often doesn't grow, water can't be collected, and habitats shift. Rural Israeli communities called kibbutzim rely on aquifers to furnish water for crops and even fish farming in the dry Negev Desert. But some deserts are always cold, like the Gobi desert in Asia and the polar deserts of the Antarctic and Arctic, which are the world's largest. Venus is similar in size to Earth, hence why it has earned the title of "Earth's Sister. The risk of desertification is widespread and spans more than 100 countries, hitting some of the poorest and most vulnerable populations the hardest, since subsistence farming is common across many of the affected regions. Fennec fox communities work together to dig large burrows, some as large as 93 square meters (1,000 square feet). This often produces several human health problems that range from malnutrition, respiratory disease caused by dusty air, and other diseases stemming from a lack of clean water. On the other hand, every few years, an unusually rainy period can produce "super blooms," where even the Atacama becomes blanketed with wildflowers.Desert Animals and PlantsDesert animals have evolved ways to help them keep cool and use less water. Interior deserts are sometimes called inland deserts.The Gobi Desert, in China and Mongolia, lies hundreds of kilometers from the ocean. This interactive map shows each countrys share of global forest area. The Sahara Desert is almost the size of the entire continental United States. A flash flood like this can sweep away anything and anyone in its path. Hooves from grazing livestock compact the soil, preventing it from absorbing water and fertilizers. This process, known as desertification, is not caused by drought, but usually arises from deforestation and the demands of human populations that settle in semiarid lands. If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. The Nile River ecosystem dominates the eastern part of the Sahara Desert, for instance. This is roughly equal to the area of Spain. The average American produces almost five pounds of waste every day. For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. These 6 Viking myths are compelling, but are they true? Deserts are part of a wider class of regions called drylands. Almost the entire continent of Antarctica is a polar desert, experiencing little precipitation. Freak FloodsDeserts are defined by their dryness. Between 1958 and 1971, the government of Egypt constructed a massive dam on the Upper Nile (the southern part of the river, near Egypts border with Sudan). Agricultural production is devastated, and the economy of a region suffers. Between 8000 and 3000 BCE, for example, the Sahara had a much milder, moister climate. Global warming is the most current instance of climate change. The definitions for these categories asdefined bythe UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are given below.4, Naturally regenerated forest of native species, where there are no clearly visible indications of human activities and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed.. Biology, Earth Science, Ecology, Geography, Geology, Human Geography, Meteorology, Physical Geography, Social Studies, World History. The need to find food and water has led many desert civilizations to become nomadic. Leeward slopes face away from prevailing winds.When moisture-laden air hits a mountain range, it is forced to rise. Air blowing toward shore, chilled by contact with cold water, produces a layer of fog. The suns rays beat down through cloudless skies and bake the land. We get that the four arid climates (group B), add up to 4.401 10 7 k m 2 of a total of 1.527 10 8 k m 2 inventoried in the dataset (A good match for the figure of of global land area of 1.489 10 8 k m 2 listed by wikipedia ), leading to a grand total of 28.8% of Earth's land surface corresponding to arid climates. 1. Kaffiyehs are secured around the head with a cord called an agal. In the regions of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan surrounding the Aral Sea, excessive use of water for agricultural irrigation has been a primary culprit in causing the sea to shrink, leaving behind a saline desert. 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