Sentinel Digital Desk
Explore the six driest locations on Earth, where rain is a rare phenomenon, and extreme arid conditions dominate the landscape.
The Atacama Desert is the driest non-polar desert in the world. Some regions of this desert receive less than 1 mm of rain per year, and some weather stations have never recorded any rainfall.
Located within the Atacama, Arica holds the record for the world's driest inhabited place. The city averages just 0.76 mm of rainfall annually, with some years seeing no rain at all.
The McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica are the driest places on the continent. These valleys haven't seen rain in nearly 2 million years, with their extreme dryness maintained by katabatic winds that can reach speeds of 200 mph.
Wadi Halfa, located near the Sudanese-Egyptian border, experiences an average annual rainfall of just 2.45 mm. It’s one of the hottest and driest places on Earth.
Aswan is a city in Egypt that receives an average of less than 1 mm of rainfall per year. The region's aridity is coupled with scorching temperatures that can reach over 40°C in the summer.
Luxor, another Egyptian city, averages around 1 mm of rainfall annually. Despite its aridity, Luxor is a popular tourist destination due to its rich history and proximity to ancient Egyptian monuments.