Precipitation

Hot deserts are concentrated around 20–30° north and south, including parts of Africa, Australia and the Americas. They usually receive less than 250 mm of precipitation annually. Days can be extremely hot, but temperatures fall sharply at night because there is little cloud cover.

Temperate forests occur in mid-latitude regions, including the UK, western Europe, eastern North America and eastern Asia. They have warmer summers and cooler winters, with precipitation through the year. A UK example has monthly temperatures around 4–18°C and annual rainfall of roughly 1,000 mm.

Three important climatic factors are temperature, precipitation and sunshine hours. Together, they affect whether plants have enough warmth, water and light to grow. The vegetation then provides food and habitats for animals.

As moist air rises, it cools, allowing water vapour to condense into cloud droplets. These can produce precipitation.