In summer, temperatures may reach up to 55°C  during the daytime , but at night they drop below 0° C. 

Most deserts get very little rainfall— on average, not more than 20 cm a year. There may be years without any rainfall at all. Sometimes a lot of rain falls during thunderstorms that last for a few hours.   

When the desert dries up after heavy rainfall, salt and other minerals are left behind on the ground. Salt lakes are very common in these places. That is why some desert areas have yellow, brown and red colours.


salt desert in Iran

Salt desert in Iran
Image:Jeanne Menj, CC BY 2.0,
via Wikimedia Commons 


Words

  • common = something that can be found very often
  • drop = go down
  • heavy = very strong
  • on average = normally, usually
  • reach = get to
  • thunderstorm = a storm with thunder, lightning and sometimes heavy rainfall