Which Desert Is the Coldest?

Antarctica holds the title of the world's coldest desert, with the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth: −89.2°C (−128.6°F) at the Soviet Vostok Station on July 21, 1983. Despite being covered in ice, Antarctica qualifies as a desert because it receives less than 200 mm of precipitation per year — some interior regions get less than 50 mm, making them drier than the Sahara. It is also the world's largest desert at about 14.2 million square kilometers. Among hot-climate deserts, the Gobi Desert in Mongolia and China is the coldest, with winter temperatures dropping to −40°C, while summer temperatures can exceed 45°C.