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Q62 (NDA-I/2011) Geography › World Physical Geography › World climatic regions Answer Verified

Hot deserts like Sahara, Arabia etc. receive very negligible amount of rainfall. This is because they :

Result
Your answer: —  Â·  Correct: C
Explanation

Hot deserts like the Sahara and Arabia are primarily characterized by their location within the Sub-Tropical High-Pressure Belts, also known as the Horse Latitudes [c5]. In these regions, the descending limb of the Hadley Cell creates stable atmospheric conditions where air sinks and warms adiabatically [t1][t6]. This subsidence suppresses convection and cloud formation, making it the least favorable condition for precipitation [c5]. Additionally, these deserts are often situated on the western margins of continents where trade winds are off-shore, meaning they blow from land to sea and carry little moisture [c1][c4]. While the lack of moisture-bearing winds and cold ocean currents contribute to aridity [c3][c4], the fundamental meteorological cause for the negligible rainfall in these specific tropical latitudes is the persistent high-pressure system that prevents the ascent of air necessary for condensation [c3][t4].

Sources

  1. [1] Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 32: Ocean Movements Ocean Currents And Tides > Why Between 20 – 30 Degrees? > p. 496
  2. [2] https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/115307/1/Hadley_Cell_review_SHORT.pdf
  3. [3] Certificate Physical and Human Geography , GC Leong (Oxford University press 3rd ed.) > Chapter 14: Climate > Pressure and Planetary Winds > p. 140
  4. [4] Certificate Physical and Human Geography , GC Leong (Oxford University press 3rd ed.) > Chapter 7: Arid or Desert Landforms > Types of Desert > p. 67
  5. [5] Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 3: MAJOR BIOMES > Hot Desert Biome > p. 15
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SIMILAR QUESTIONS

NDA-II · 2009 · Q44 Relevance score: -2.78

What is the reason for the major hot deserts of the world lying in the western part of the tropical latitude?

IAS · 2009 · Q51 Relevance score: -3.28

Consider the following statements : 1. In the world, the tropical deserts occur along the western margins of continents within the trade wind belt. 2. In India, the East Himalayan region gets high rainfall from north-east winds. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

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Why western coast of India receives heavy rainfall but the Deccan Plateau receives very little ?

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Assertion (A) : Areas lying within five to eight degrees latitude on either side of the equator receive rainfall throughout the year. Reason (R) : High temperatures and high humidity cause convectional rain to fall mostly in the afternoons near the equator.

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Assertion (A) : Areas near the equator receive rainfall throughout the year. Reason (R) : High temperatures and high humidity cause convectional rain in most afternoons near the equator. In the context of the above two statements, which one of the following is correct ?