Rain is a more common term for precipitation, and precipitation is defined as “the amount, usually expressed in millimeters or inches of liquid water, of the water substance that has fallen at a given point for a specified period of time.” The main forms of precipitation are rain, drizzle, snow, downpour, freezing rain, and hail. In this selection are highlighted the 10 countries less rainy in the world. For this selection, determined data from The World Bank for the year 2014 are used and the most recent data are available, and countries by average rainfall depth in millimeters per year. Source: constructmaterials.com
10. KUWAIT – AVERAGE PRECIPITATION 121 MM / YEAR
Unusually frequent thunderstorms during spring are probably the only rainfall that Kuwait receives throughout the year. Kuwait also holds the record at the highest temperature recorded in Asia at 54.4 ° C, with extremely hot summers.
9. JORDAN – 111 MM / YEAR
With many variations in climate, following from the Mediterranean to an arid desert, Jordan is plentiful with several plants with an estimated number of more than 2,300 species. Average temperatures during the summer from May to September are around 32 ° C, with possible peaks exceeding 40 ° C, so when planning a trip, make sure to skip the period between July and August which is the hottest.
8. MAURITANIA – 92 MM / YEAR
With around three quarters of its land being desert or semi-desert, it is no wonder that Mauritania is in this selection, from the 10 least rainy countries in the world, occupying the eighth position here. In the part of the country that is covered by the Sahara, the diurnal variations in temperature are extreme, for example, during the period of May to July, they vary of 16 ° C in the morning to more of 49 ° C in the afternoon.
7. ALGERIA – 89 MM / YEAR
The country actually obtains decent amounts of rain along the coast, up to 670 mm annually, and in the north-eastern parts of Algeria, reaches 1,000 mm in the years with high rainfall. The tenth largest country in the world and the largest country in Africa with low annual average rainfall due to its four-fifths being a desert, determining factor on this aspect.
6. BAHRAIN – 83 MM / YEAR
Receiving dust storms from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, carried by the north-west winds, and having summer temperatures reaching 50 ° C, this country made up of many islands is not a pleasant place to live. Only 2.82% of this land is suitable for crop cultivation, and 92% is a desert, as characteristics that impress visitors to Bahrain.
5. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – 78 MM / YEAR
The UAE’s coastal area receives less than 120 mm of rain annually, and most of the country is, as everyone knows, a hot desert. The coastal region receives violent dust storms from time to time and during July and August the maximum average temperatures are above 45 ° C.
4. QATAR – 74 MM / YEAR
The short and sudden storms during the winter months are most of the rains that Qatar receives. Like most countries in this selection, Qatar has super hot summers, with maximum temperatures reaching 40 ° C, and of course, many sandstorms. Despite this, the country was chosen to host the Football World Cup in 2022. Some say the choice was because of money, after all it is one of the richest countries per capita in the world .
3. SAUDI ARABIA – 59 MM / YEAR
Because Saudi Arabia is located in the Arabian desert, it’s no wonder it’s in the national team. In the southern part of Saudi Arabia is Rub ‘al Khali, the largest contiguous sand desert in the world which is also a part of the greater Arab desert. Summer temperatures can reach 54 ° C. The Asir region is the only part of Saudi Arabia that is not in a desert climate and gets an average of 300 mm of precipitation from October to March, thanks to the Indian Ocean monsoon.
2. LIBYA – 56 MM / YEAR
Most of Libya is covered in desert, except for northern regions that are lucky to have a Mediterranean climate. The Jabal al Akhdar area of Cyrenaica is where annual rainfall can reach up to 600 mm; however, all other areas of the country receive less, and in the Sahara desert up to less than 50 mm occurs, resulting in less than 2% of the territory being fertile ground.
1. EGYPT – 51 MM / YEAR
Most of the landscape of Egypt consists of parts of the Sahara desert and parts of the Libyan desert; therefore, most of its population does not have much choice in addition to living along the Nile and Delta Strait. During spring or early summer, a hot dry wind called Khamaseen blows and brings the scorching sand and dust of the deserts in the south. Khamaseen can increase daytime temperatures and sometimes even over 50 ° C, while the relative humidity also drops to 5% or less. Knowing that 3% of Egypt is home to 98% of its population, because the rest of the land is an arid desert with some oases, Egypt is leading position in this selection of the 10 least rainy countries in the world.
