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

In a word, water.

– Little to no water in the air at ground level (humidity)
– Little to no water in the air up high (cloud cover)
– No water on the ground (lakes or seas)

Because water absorbs and retains heat, each of those things will limit how much temperatures can swing on a 24 hour basis.