eli5: why does it get so cold in the desert at night.

Question

Let’s take the Sahara for example, it’s a lot closer to the equator, yet at night temperatures fall to -4c (25f). Yet in the uk which is a lot further away from the equator, the night temperatures are around 15c (60f) during the summer. Why is this?

In: 97

Answer 1

The desert gets cold at night because the air is dry. Dry air doesn’t hold heat as well as humid air, so it cools off more quickly at night.