Limits RegistryPUBLIC RECORD
Limits RegistryUnder the standard climatological definition of a desert as any region receiving very little precipitation, Antarctica — not the Sahara — is the largest desert on Earth, covering roughly 14.2 million km². The Sahara remains the largest hot desert, but Antarctica's extreme dryness (some interior areas receive under 50 mm of precipitation per year, nearly all as snow) qualifies the entire continent as a polar desert under this broader definition.
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Under the standard climatological definition of a desert as any region receiving very little precipitation, Antarctica — not the Sahara — is the largest desert on Earth, covering roughly 14.2 million km². The Sahara remains the largest hot desert, but Antarctica's extreme dryness (some interior areas receive under 50 mm of precipitation per year, nearly all as snow) qualifies the entire continent as a polar desert under this broader definition.
The greatest surface area of any region classified as a desert under a precipitation-based definition that includes cold and polar deserts, distinct from a comparison restricted to hot deserts only.
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Limits Registry. LR-LARGEST-DESERT-ALL-TYPES. Largest desert of any kind (including polar deserts). 2026.