Problem

Threatened polar desert habitats

Other Names:
Endangered alpine desert habitats
Threatened cold rock desert habitats
Background:

Polar deserts are areas with annual precipitation less than 250 millimeters and a mean temperature during the warmest month of less than 10øC. Cold dry air prevails and moisture available remains frozen throughout the entire year. Polar deserts on the Earth cover nearly 5 million square kilometers and are mostly bedrock or gravel plains. Snow dunes occur commonly in areas where precipitation is locally more abundant. Temperature changes in polar deserts frequently cross the freezing point of water. This "freeze-thaw" alternation forms patterned textures on the ground, as much as 5 meters in diameter.

Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
GOAL 10: Reduced InequalityGOAL 15: Life on Land
Problem Type:
D: Detailed problems
Date of last update
29.05.2019 – 17:25 CEST