Australia's exceptional aridity is the result of a unique combination of factors. Cold ocean currents off the west coast means there is little evaporation to form rainclouds, while the Great Dividing Range that runs down Australia's east coast prevents rain from penetrating far inland.
Australia is so dry because we sit under the subtropical high-pressure belt, which encourages the air to push down, preventing the lift required for rain. Being under the high-pressure belt is enough to make it dry, but there are other systems called climate drivers that can make things worse from one year to the next.
Australia is the driest inhabited continent in the world; 70% of it is either arid or semi arid land.
The main reason for the formation of the Australian deserts is their location. Like most major deserts across the world they are found around a certain latitude (roughly 30° north / south of the equator) where the weather phenomena create a dry climate. Rainfall is unpredictable.
The outback gets so hot and dry because a high pressure ridge sits over it most of the time. This high pressure ridge is the result of the relationship between the earth and the sun. Because our planet is a sphere, more of the sun's energy is focussed around the equator than at the poles.
As the global climate warms, global average rainfall is increasing – and we expect most regions of the world will actually become wetter. But there are some regions which will get drier, including southern Australia, the Mediterranean and southern Africa. So what will this look like?
Antarctica is the driest continent on earth. The amount of moisture that falls on the polar plateau is similar to the amount that falls on the world's hot deserts.
A United States climate study says global warming will cause Australian deserts to get bigger and expand to the south.
The deserts of Australia or the Australian deserts cover about 2,700,000 km2 (1,000,000 sq mi), or 18% of the Australian mainland, but about 35% of the Australian continent receives so little rain, it is practically desert.
Between about 100,000 and 13,000 years ago, the interior of the Australian land mass was more arid than present.
South Australia is the driest of the Australian states. Only about one-fifth of the area receives annual precipitation of more than 10 inches (250 mm), and less than half of that has more than 16 inches (400 mm).
South America is the wettest and has the largest river flow and evaporation (Table 1). Australia, with the lowest rainfall, discharges the least in consequence. Antarctica is an exception: it is very dry, and very little snow sublimates. Most water leaves this continent as ice.
Seven hundred kilometres south of Alice Springs, Oodnadatta sits in the hot, dry heart of the Australian outback.
In terms of rainfall, Australia is the driest inhabited continent, and the amount of rainwater that enters rivers is also very low. On average, only 12% of rainfall flows into rivers in Australia, compared to 39% for Europe and 52% for North America.
Is Australia hotter than India? India is closer to the equator as compared to Australia, and is therefore expected to be hotter. The average temperature in most of the interior regions of India is 90–104 °F. Whereas in Australia the average temperature in summer is 86 °F.
Australia is the second driest continent on earth (after Antarctica).
What is an Australian kiss? An Australian kiss. is when you start off with a French kiss. and then you end up Down Under.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the first peoples of Australia, meaning they were here for thousands of years prior to colonisation.
Australia's population density is low because most of the country's interior is desert (also known as the outback) and presents extremely difficult living conditions.
2100: Either uninhabitable or beginning to repair
Over the coming two decades, extreme weather is set to disrupt society with increasingly severe bushfires, drought and storms. The good news is by the end of the century, living on Earth could actually be more pleasant than it is today.
The southern coast, which includes Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney, has the best climate by far, with mild winters (June to August) between 41°F and 50°F (5°C and 10°C) and warm summers (December to February) between 77°F and 86°F (25°C and 30°C).
Australia's annual average temperatures are projected to increase 0.4–2.0 °C above 1990 levels by the year 2030, and 1–6 °C by 2070. Average precipitation in the southwest and southeast Australia is projected to decline during this time, while regions such as the northwest may experience increases in rainfall.
Antarctica is a desert. It does not rain or snow a lot there. When it snows, the snow does not melt and builds up over many years to make large, thick sheets of ice, called ice sheets. Antarctica is made up of lots of ice in the form of glaciers, ice shelves and icebergs.
Antarctica, on the other hand, is a continent, covered by a very thick ice cap and surrounded by a rim of sea ice and the Southern Ocean.
Great Victoria Desert (348,750sq.km) Great Sandy Desert (267,250sq.km) Tanami Desert (184,500sq.km) Simpson Desert (176,500sq.km)