Why is Australia so overwhelmingly dry when nearby places like Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Indonesia, and Tasmania are all so wet and lush?
In: Other
Australia is mainly in an area of the earth called a “subsidence region.” This basically means that there is a lot of air that is sinking from higher up in the atmosphere. This air is also dry, so when it sinks it gets warm and dry and so you see mainly desert in Australia. These regions are generally from 15-30’ N or S of the equator.
Open Google Maps with satellite view and you’ll generally see lots of deserts in these places. The Sahara, American Southwest, etc. This is a generalization but holds mostly true as there are other reasons deserts exist.
Papua New Guinea and Indonesia are near/on the equator where it is far wetter and the air is rising instead of sinking (if you ask why that is another can of worms I can try and explain).
New Zealand and Tasmania are farther south than these subsidence regions and benefit from westerly winds that bring moisture and energy from the equator.
Latest Answers