What is the world's second-largest desert by area?

The term "desert" refers not only to hot, sandy landscapes but also to areas with low precipitation. Antarctica meets the latter criteria, despite its icy reputation. With over 13.7 million square kilometers, the Arctic Desert is the second-largest desert in the world. It is mostly in Canada, Greenland, and Russia, which make up the northernmost region on the planet surpassed only by the Antarctic Desert.

In the case of the Arctic, particularly the Arctic tundra, the region experiences very little rainfall. The precipitation that does occur is often in the form of snow. The Arctic Desert is the world's second-largest cold desert, covering vast expanses of the Arctic Circle, including parts of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia, and Russia.

The extreme cold temperatures in the Arctic create a unique situation where the air holds very little moisture, leading to low precipitation levels. This aridity, combined with the fact that much of the precipitation comes in the form of snow and not liquid water, qualifies the Arctic as a cold desert. Despite the icy appearance, the Arctic shares the characteristic dryness of deserts found in warmer climates.