<p>The mediterranian do in a way create its own climate and is partly protected from the north saharan desert by the dominating wind direction in the area.</p>

<p>The dominating wind direction is from west and northwest,The wind blows into the saharan desert in the direction of the equator in the winter,This creates the mild winters the mediterranian is known for.</p>

<p>In the summer more warm and dry air moves from the north saharan desert and into the mediterranian area,this creates the dry summer climate the mediterranan is known for.</p>

<p>So the north saharan desert have the strongest influence on the mediterranian climate in the summer.</p>

<p>you can read about it here <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadley_cell" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadley_cell</a> if you click on the animation you can see how the precipitation changes over the year and thereby also the temparature.</p>

<p>and here <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_climate" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_climate</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-23T14:46:53.663Z
Thank you, I am aware of the Hadley cell circulation but missed its interaction in this case. My initial question was based purely on proximity, without considering currents which is unrealistic.
A_A
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-23T17:30:14.077Z
my answer is not a very good one and a lot of information is missing so if anybody post a better one feel free to unaccept my answer at any time.if you go to the linked pages you can find a lot more information in the sources there.
trond hansen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-23T17:36:14.930Z
Thank you for this note, I will. But until then, this would be the post, in answer form, that led me to a better understanding than my own.
A_A
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-22T19:05:58.170Z
2020-02-22T20:47:52.367Z
2020-02-22T20:47:52.367Z
trond hansen
<p>The proximity of the Sahara certainly does influence the Mediterranean climate, but how much varies according to which way the wind is blowing. The presence of the Sahara has a warming effect and a desiccating effect. Winds also carry large quantities of dust to the Med and to much more distant places like Latin America. Not often, but it does happen. It isn't all that rare for southerly winds from the Sahara to bring unusually warm temperatures to Britain, and to deposit dust on our motorcars. I live here, so I should know.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-22T10:40:23.370Z
2020-02-22T10:40:23.370Z
Michael Walsby
<p>With reference to this image...:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/SSP51.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/SSP51.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>...from <a href="https://twitter.com/severeweatherEU/status/1231126515057864704" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this recent tweet</a>, I was wondering to what extent would Mediterranean regions be affected by the large desert areas to its South?</p>

<p>"Affected", here meaning that there would be higher correlation between temperature measurements between the Sahara and Malta (for example), than Malta and Iceland. </p>

<p>I suppose that measurements are correlated but that this correlation reduces with distance to some lower value (but not zero). The question here is, how quickly does this correlation tend to its lower value and is the distance between the "centroid" (?) of the Sahara desert to points in the Mediterranean short enough so that it can be considered an "influence"?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-22T11:51:52.007Z
@gansub Thank you, I was not thinking of convection but just conduction given that the sand warms up enough to create significant vertical-draft. In my mind, winds are a by-product of warming up (minus the currents because of the earth's rotation). Therefore, the desert should be creating a cell / flow of its own but given the rest of the currents around it, the effect of this cell to a particular area is probably difficult to estimate... Maybe by considering prevailing winds...but not sure how informative would that be.
A_A
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-22T12:02:03.557Z
@gansub Sorry, it might not be clear from my message: There are two things: a) How much does the warming up of the column of air above the Sahara affects the temperature in other areas (original question) and b) Naturally, warmed up air is going to start to move and that movement is not isolated from its surrounding (which is the bit I did not consider initially).
A_A
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-23T14:42:24.173Z
@gansub thank you, that was a really good reference. If you put together an answer along the lines of these comments it would get my vote (at least).
A_A
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-03T12:17:18.360Z
@gansub Thank you. I might "lurk" around Earth Science SE more often then, although I suspect that quite a bit of specialised context knowledge is also required to properly address these questions.
A_A
<temperature><measurements><correlation><pressure>
Extent of desert area influence in local climate
A_A
# Extent of desert area influence in local climate

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-02-22)

With reference to this image...:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/SSP51.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/SSP51.png)

...from [this recent tweet](https://twitter.com/severeweatherEU/status/1231126515057864704), I was wondering to what extent would Mediterranean regions be affected by the large desert areas to its South?

"Affected", here meaning that there would be higher correlation between temperature measurements between the Sahara and Malta (for example), than Malta and Iceland.

I suppose that measurements are correlated but that this correlation reduces with distance to some lower value (but not zero). The question here is, how quickly does this correlation tend to its lower value and is the distance between the "centroid" (?) of the Sahara desert to points in the Mediterranean short enough so that it can be considered an "influence"?

**Tags:** temperature, measurements, correlation, pressure

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: @gansub Thank you, I was not thinking of convection but just conduction given that the sand warms up enough to create significant vertical-draft. In my mind, winds are a by-product of warming up (minus the currents because of the earth's rotation). Therefore, the desert should be creating a cell / flow of its own but given the rest of the currents around it, the effect of this cell to a particular area is probably difficult to estimate... Maybe by considering prevailing winds...but not sure how informative would that be.  
> **username_0**: @gansub Sorry, it might not be clear from my message: There are two things: a) How much does the warming up of the column of air above the Sahara affects the temperature in other areas (original question) and b) Naturally, warmed up air is going to start to move and that movement is not isolated from its surrounding (which is the bit I did not consider initially).  
> **username_0**: @gansub thank you, that was a really good reference. If you put together an answer along the lines of these comments it would get my vote (at least).  
> **username_0**: @gansub Thank you. I might "lurk" around Earth Science SE more often then, although I suspect that quite a bit of specialised context knowledge is also required to properly address these questions.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-02-22. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

The mediterranian do in a way create its own climate and is partly protected from the north saharan desert by the dominating wind direction in the area.

The dominating wind direction is from west and northwest,The wind blows into the saharan desert in the direction of the equator in the winter,This creates the mild winters the mediterranian is known for.

In the summer more warm and dry air moves from the north saharan desert and into the mediterranian area,this creates the dry summer climate the mediterranan is known for.

So the north saharan desert have the strongest influence on the mediterranian climate in the summer.

you can read about it here <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadley_cell> if you click on the animation you can see how the precipitation changes over the year and thereby also the temparature.

and here <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_climate>

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you, I am aware of the Hadley cell circulation but missed its interaction in this case. My initial question was based purely on proximity, without considering currents which is unrealistic.  
> **username_1**: my answer is not a very good one and a lot of information is missing so if anybody post a better one feel free to unaccept my answer at any time.if you go to the linked pages you can find a lot more information in the sources there.  
> **username_0**: Thank you for this note, I will. But until then, this would be the post, in answer form, that led me to a better understanding than my own.  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-02-22. Score: -2

The proximity of the Sahara certainly does influence the Mediterranean climate, but how much varies according to which way the wind is blowing. The presence of the Sahara has a warming effect and a desiccating effect. Winds also carry large quantities of dust to the Med and to much more distant places like Latin America. Not often, but it does happen. It isn't all that rare for southerly winds from the Sahara to bring unusually warm temperatures to Britain, and to deposit dust on our motorcars. I live here, so I should know.


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