What is the largest desert on Earth, according to the World Meteorological Organization?

The Antarctic Desert is the largest desert on Earth, covering the continent of Antarctica.

A desert is defined by very low precipitation, not by heat. Antarctica receives little snowfall or rain across most of its area, so its polar ice sheet sits within a desert climate. The continent covers about 14 million square kilometres, making this desert far larger than the Sahara.

The Sahara is the world’s largest hot desert, but it is not the largest desert overall. Antarctica’s interior is extremely dry because cold air holds little moisture, and much of the limited snowfall accumulates as ice over thousands of years.

Antarctica also contains the McMurdo Dry Valleys, one of Earth’s coldest and driest regions. Although parts of the continent receive more snowfall than others, the continent as a whole is classified as a polar desert.