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

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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?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Radiative cooling, but more specifically [nocturnal surface cooling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiative_cooling#Nocturnal_surface_cooling).

On cloudless nights (where clouds absorb and in turn re-emit IR back to the surface) the surface can cool very quickly with very large deltaT (change in temperatures)

This happens elsewhere, not just in deserts. But deserts tend to be cloudless due to lack of regional water.

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