Hot desert climates (
BWh) are typically found under the
subtropical ridge in the lower middle latitudes or the
subtropics, often between 20° and 33° north and south latitudes. In these locations, stable descending air and high pressure aloft clear clouds and create hot, arid conditions with intense sunshine. Hot desert climates are found across vast areas of
North Africa,
West Asia, northwestern parts of the
Indian subcontinent, southwestern Africa, interior Australia, the
Southwestern United States, northern
Mexico, the coast of
Peru and
Chile, parts of the Brazilian
sertão and the southeastern coast of
Spain. This makes hot deserts present in every continent except Antarctica. At the time of high sun (summer), scorching, desiccating heat prevails. Hot-month average temperatures are normally between , and midday readings of are common. The world's absolute heat records, over , are generally in the hot deserts, where the heat potential can be the highest on the planet. This includes the record of in
Death Valley, which is currently considered the
highest temperature recorded on Earth. Some deserts in the
tropics consistently experience very high temperatures all year long, even during wintertime. These locations feature some of the highest annual average temperatures recorded on Earth, exceeding , up to nearly in
Dallol, Ethiopia. This last feature is seen in sections of Africa and
Arabia. During colder periods of the year, night-time temperatures can drop to freezing or below due to the exceptional radiation loss under the clear skies. However, temperatures rarely drop far below freezing under the hot subtype. Hot desert climates can be found in the deserts of
North Africa such as the wide
Sahara Desert, the
Libyan Desert or the
Nubian Desert; deserts of the
Horn of Africa such as the
Danakil Desert or the
Grand Bara Desert; deserts of
Southern Africa such as the
Namib Desert or the
Kalahari Desert; deserts of
West Asia such as the
Arabian Desert, or the
Syrian Desert; deserts of
South Asia such as
Dasht-e Lut and
Dasht-e Kavir of Iran or the
Thar Desert of India and Pakistan; deserts of the United States and Mexico such as the
Mojave Desert, the
Sonoran Desert or the
Chihuahuan Desert; deserts of Australia such as the
Simpson Desert or the
Great Victoria Desert and many other regions. In
Europe, the hot desert climate can only be found on southeastern coast of
Spain as well as small inland parts of southeastern, especially parts of the
Tabernas Desert. Hot deserts are lands of extremes: most of them are among the hottest, the driest, and the sunniest places on Earth because of nearly constant high pressure; the almost permanent removal of low-pressure systems, dynamic fronts, and atmospheric disturbances; sinking air motion; dry atmosphere near the surface and aloft; the exacerbated exposure to the sun where solar angles are always high makes this desert inhospitable to most species. ==Cold desert climates==