Move Over Sahara! This Is the World’s Largest Desert

Deserts cover a significant portion of the Earth’s surface, and some of them are massive in size. However, when we think of deserts, the Sahara Desert often comes to mind as the largest in the world.

But did you know that there is another desert even larger than the Sahara? While the Sahara may be the most famous, it is not actually the largest desert on our planet. Want to know who takes the throne? Keep on reading to find out!

What Are Deserts?

When most people hear the word “desert,” they envision sand dunes, cacti, and snakes. A dry area that is too warm and humid. In media, characters stranded in the desert often suffer from dehydration and hallucinations, perceiving mirages of water and palm trees. Well, that is not always the case.

Deserts can be icy too. Deserts come in diverse forms and sizes, varying significantly across the globe. In fact, deserts can be both hot and cold. By this definition, the world’s largest desert is Antarctica, not the Sahara.

The World’s Largest Desert

The Antarctic desert, spanning 13.7 million square kilometers, holds the title of the largest desert on Earth by size. Contrary to popular belief, the Sahara is the largest hot desert, not the largest overall. In the Sahara, temperatures can soar to a scorching 58 degrees Celsius during the day.

The Antarctic desert blankets the entire continent of Antarctica, dominated by a permanent ice sheet containing 90% of Earth’s freshwater. Only 2% of Antarctica remains ice-free, mainly along the coasts where various wildlife thrives, including penguins, whales, birds, and seals. Similar to sandstorms in hot deserts, Antarctica experiences blizzards and severe snowstorms when winds pick up snow, leading to exceptionally cold conditions. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica was minus 89.2°C in 1983 at the Soviet Vostok Station on the Antarctic Plateau.

What Makes Icy Antarctica a Desert?

Deserts are determined by their low rainfall, typically receiving less than 25 cm annually. Contrary to common perception, deserts can be both hot and cold. According to this definition, Antarctica qualifies as a desert, with its annual precipitation averaging less than 5.1 cm. In fact, some inland parts of Antarctica have not seen rain for the past 14 million years, according to experts.

Did you know about the world’s largest desert? Did you guess any other sandy dune-like place? Let us know in the comments below!

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