Why are the areas in the equator not as hot and dry as deserts even though they’re closer to the sun?
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So first of all, deserts are not all that hot on avarage. Sure they get crazy hot at noon during summer, but they also get quite cold at night and during winter. The avarage temperature of the Sahara is 17.5°C compared to 25°C in the amazon.
The areas around the equator do in fact get the most energy from the sun. Although this has nothing to do with the distance to the sun – a few thousand extra miles are irrelevant here – but with the angle that this sunlight hits the Earth.
And because these areas get the most energy, the air heats up there the most, and hot air usually rises. But since air also gets colder as it rises, and cold air can hold less water vapour than hot air, the vapour condenses into rain. Thats why these areas have so many rainforests.
The air, which is now much drier air, has to come back down somewhere else – usually 20-30 degrees north and south of the equator. So, these areas usually only get air with little to no water in it, which means they don’t experience rain, which makes them deserts. Thats why most of the equator is covered in rainforests, while the deserts are at these other latitudes.
Little bonus fact: The areas that get the most energy shift during the year – in June, they’re somewhat north of the equtor, and in December, they’re south of it. This is what causes, among other things, the “rain seasons” in certain parts of the world.
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