This question was not very popular among the candidates.  Some were able to state the location of hot deserts.  Some of the candidates who answered this question could not properly give an account of the climate of a place.  The climatic characteristics of hot desert include:

-           high temperature lying between 30°C – 60°C;
-           rainfall less than 250 mm;
-           relative humidity as low as 30%;
-           high rate of evaporation;
-           high solar radiation;
-           cloudless skies;
-           winds are hot in summer and cold in  winter;
-           rainfall is sudden and of convectional type;
-           annual temperature range is between 11°C ands 14°C.

The vegetation in hot deserts are characterized by the following:

-           sparse and scanty;
-           made up of grasses, scrubs and herbs;
-           most plants are xerophytes;
-           some plants are salt tolerant (halophytic);
-           plants include acacia, date palm, etc.;
-           most plants have succulent stems;
-           leaves are waxy, leathery and hairy.

The human activities in desert areas include:

-           food gathering;
-           hunting;
-           pastoral farming;
-           cultivation of grain through irrigation;
-           trading;
-           mining;
-           leather works.