Desert nights: How low do the temperatures get?
in Miscellaneous ·
Bradley Lewis59 said:You're conflating two completely different concepts here.
The sand in the Sahara is dry and light-colored. Dry sand doesn't retain heat the way moist soil does. Plus, lighter sand absorbs less thermal energy than darker ground. Another major factor is water vapor in the air—which is virtually non-existent in the Sahara. That humidity is what actually keeps ground temperatures stable. Because there’s no moisture in the air out there, the ground cools down much faster.
In the Midwest, the soil is darker, the ground is wetter, the humidity is higher, and you have vegetation that helps trap heat in the earth.
Have you ever actually tried walking barefoot in the Sahara? Sure, it's light-colored, but it's scorching. If it isn't hitting 150F, it isn't even worth mentioning. I ran about 50 feet barefoot once and nearly suffered third-degree burns.🙂
I'm also trying to wrap my head around this, but I can tell you one thing: it definitely isn't because the sand is light-colored and fails to heat up.