Geography Paper 3 WASSCE (SC), 2020

Question 7

  1. Define climate.
  2. Draw the globe and show the three climatic belts of the Greek System of classification.
  3. List three areas of desert climate.
  4. Outline three characteristic of hot deserts.
  5.  

The question was a bit popular among the candidates and the performance was well above average. Most of those who answered the question were able to correctly define climate but were unable to locate the three climatic belts of the Greek System on the globe. It is illustrated thus:

 

A good proportion of the candidates rather than show areas of hot desert listed some names of deserts. The expected answer included:
North Africa  - Sahara
Middle East  -  Arabian desert
Iran  - Iranian desert  
India  - -Thar desert
Australia  -  Great Australian desert
South America (Peru) – Atacama/Peruvian desert
North America (California/Mexico) – Mohave desert
S.W. Africa (Angola)  -  Kalahari desert
S.W Africa (Namibia) – Namibia desert   
The Characteristics of hot deserts are:
-high temperatures usually above 30 ᵒC
- aridity
-varied annual range of temperatures (9-20 ᵒC)
-high rate of evaporation
-high daily temperature range (17o  - 22ᵒC)
-low relative humidity (usually below 30%)
-frost may occur at night
-low annual rainfall below 250mm
-many months without rainfall, up to 10 months
-rainfall is usually sudden and violent (unreliable)
-insolation is intense and duration is long
-wind erosion is predominant
-cloudless sky
-occasional dust storms
-associated with trade winds
-presence of specially adapted plants
-surface could be sandy, rocky or stony
-presence of gullies and ravines
-little or no vegetation
-plants are zerophytic
-presence of hardpans