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Biggest Cities in Deserts

Try to name the world's most populous urban areas that get less than 250mm of rainfall per year.
Population according to citypopulation.de as of January 2023
These cities might be on a river or a sea
Quiz by relessness
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Last updated: March 3, 2023
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First submittedSeptember 22, 2017
Times taken37,049
Average score57.1%
Rating4.86
3:00
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Continent
Population
City
Africa
22.2 m
Cairo
Asia
19.1 m
Karachi
Asia
16.2 m
Tehran
South America
11.6 m
Lima
Asia
9.15 m
Riyadh
Asia
7.50 m
Baghdad
Africa
6.85 m
Khartoum
Continent
Population
City
Asia
6.66 m
Dubai
Africa
6.10 m
Alexandria
Asia
5.85 m
Amman
Asia
5.50 m
Jeddah
North America
4.83 m
Phoenix
Asia
4.20 m
Kuwait City
Asia
3.80 m
Damascus
+62
Level 83
Sep 27, 2017
With less than a minute to go I suddenly remembered that the Middle East exists...
+22
Level 89
Jan 9, 2018
That's, like, 70% of the quiz. :)
+26
Level 89
Mar 16, 2021
Cairo, Tehran, Riyadh, Baghdad, Alexandria, Amman, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait City, and Damascus = 10 Middle East cities.

10/14 = 0.714 or 71.4%.

+3
Level 71
Mar 14, 2024
I love how you replied to yourself three years later :) and I also replied three years after your reply. Now we’ll need someone to reply to me in 2027. :)
+15
Level 63
Jan 9, 2018
I only got the S. America one because of a quiz a few days ago. It's still weird to me that it gets that little rain!
+5
Level 70
Jan 9, 2018
The Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on earth.
+33
Level 66
Jan 9, 2018
But Lima is not in the Atacama desert
+4
Level 77
Jan 9, 2018
It's close enough, I guess... the Atacama is northern Chile and does spread into Peru.
+3
Level 75
May 22, 2023
Lima isn't in the Atacama Desert, it's just that Lima is in an area of very little precipitation. Weirder is that it's coastal and (almost) equatorial, but never very hot.
+1
Level 65
Feb 29, 2024
Peruvian coastal desert, close enough
+3
Level 77
Jan 9, 2018
Ditto.
+15
Level 47
Jan 9, 2018
Was in Lima last year, was weird seeing the streets without drains
+3
Level 66
Mar 17, 2021
The fact that it is often cloudy even makes it weirder.
+2
Level 59
May 22, 2023
it almost never rains in Lima
+4
Level 64
Jan 9, 2018
"These cities might be on a river or a sea"

Aren't all cities? :)

+6
Level 35
Jan 9, 2018
no mine isn't
+10
Level 89
Jun 26, 2019
Saudi Arabia doesn't have rivers.
+6
Level 82
Aug 17, 2019
All cities might be. Not all cities are. The point is that to some it might seem counter-intuitive to think of a city next to water as in a desert. But if it doesn't get much rainfall a coastal area can still technically be a desert.
+2
Level 59
May 22, 2023
Worcester, MA (several lakes around though)

Birmingham, AL (a little creek is present though)

+1
Level 56
May 23, 2023
Hey I'm from Worcester!
+2
Level 46
Mar 16, 2021
Bruuuuuuh

Would have never considered Phoenix or Damascus because they are small in comparison... Didn't realize that the urban ares were considered 🤦🏼‍♂️

+2
Level 67
Mar 16, 2021
Phoenix is quite big even city proper, with a city proper population over 2 million I think.
+1
Level 80
May 22, 2023
Not quite. Still around 1.5 million.
+1
Level 61
May 22, 2023
Yeah, just over 1.6 million at the last census
+2
Level 70
May 7, 2021
I guess Casablanca is not in a desert? It certainly feels like a desert there. I have never been there, but I went on street view on Google Maps and it feels like a desert, but if you go on the satellite you can see it's not in a desert I guess.
+2
Level ∞
Mar 3, 2023
Very close to being a desert.
+1
Level 67
Aug 6, 2021
what about las vegas, aleppo, jerusalem, kabul, sanaa, or mecca?
+8
Level ∞
Mar 3, 2023
Too small, too small, way too small, almost but not quite a desert, too small, and too small.
+2
Level 68
May 22, 2023
not only Jerusalem is too small but also has a mediterranean climate. 554mm of rain anually
+1
Level 63
Jan 20, 2022
I thought Addis Ababa was in a desert

Guess I was wrong lol

+2
Level ∞
Mar 3, 2023
Not even close. They get an average of 1,165 mm per year, which is more than most of Europe.
+1
Level 79
Jun 21, 2022
Wow, Lima?? Had no idea.
+1
Level 68
Aug 21, 2023
One of the driest places on earth actually
+1
Level 72
Apr 6, 2023
Are cities like Karachi and Amman really in the desert?
+1
Level 68
Aug 21, 2023
Just barely, but yes. Travel 30 km and you're out of desert climate
+4
Level 65
Apr 22, 2023
I wonder whether this wouldn't be better called 'World's Driest Cities' as many of these would never be regarded by those who know them as being in deserts. I mean how could the legendarily soggy Nile delta be seen as a desert?
+1
Level 72
Sep 8, 2023
That feels much more confusing.
+1
Level 60
Dec 8, 2023
Maybe Biggest Dry Cities, since these are not the Driest Cities, but the most populous.
+4
Level 68
May 15, 2023
Kuwait City, man. Depending on how it’s measured, I either overestimate or underestimate its population. Every time!
+2
Level 33
May 23, 2023
Come On! Missed Khartoum, but got everything else.