RAS question
The largest desert in the world is:
Correct answer: (C) Antarctic Desert.
The Antarctic Desert is the largest desert in the world because its extremely low precipitation, not its temperature, qualifies it as a desert.
Explanation
A common misconception treats every desert as hot. In geography, a desert is defined mainly by aridity: very low precipitation, commonly under 250 mm a year. Britannica applies that standard to the Antarctic Ice Sheet, noting that its interior receives under 5 cm of precipitation a year and covers about 1.4 crore sq km. Antarctica is therefore a cold desert and the world's largest desert. The Sahara remains important for exams because it is the largest hot desert, but it is not the largest desert overall. The correct comparison is not heat versus cold; it is area plus very low precipitation.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Arctic Desert is also a polar desert, but Britannica lists it below the Antarctic Ice Sheet in area, so it is not the largest desert.
- (B) The Gobi Desert is far smaller than the Antarctic Desert and does not compete with the polar deserts for the top rank.
- (D) The Sahara Desert is the largest hot desert, but the largest desert overall includes cold deserts.
Concept
World Geography treats deserts as arid regions rather than simply hot regions. RAS exam patterns often separate climatic definitions from common-sense labels such as hot, cold, polar and tropical.