Why is Antarctica called a ‘polar desert’?

When you think of deserts, you think of a hot, dry place. But a desert is any place that gets very little rain. Antarctica gets only about five cms. of snowfall every year, and even in summer, the temperature does not go above 0°C.

Any place with annual precipitation less than 25 cm and a mean temperature during the warmest month of less than 10°C, is classified as a polar desert. So, it is the extremely cold and dry climate of Antarctica that makes it a polar desert.

What is a Polar Desert?

According to wikipedia, “Polar deserts are one of two polar biomes, the other being Arctic tundra. These biomes are located at the poles of the earth, covering much of the Antarctic in the southern hemisphere, and in the northern hemisphere extending from the Arctic into North America, Europe and Asia.”

Watch this interesting video on what’s under the Ice in Antarctica.

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