Question: how can a human survive in an extreme environment like a desert

Emma Ross answered on 17 Jun 2013:

Our bodies are really clever at helping us cope with extreme environments like the desert. In the heat, our blood flow is redistributed so that a lot of the blood (which carries our body heat) flows just below the skin, and the heat can escape into the air around us and this cools us down. The trouble with the desert is that it is so hot, that when the blood takes our body heat to the skins surface to get rid of the excess heat, the surrounding air is so hot that the heat cannot escape from our body. This makes it very hard for our body to keep cool, and when our core temperature starts to heat up too much, the cells in our body start to function more slowly, and this means that we can become dangerously ill.

The key to surviving in the desert is to keep cool, either by finding shade, or wearing cool clothing that covers the skin to stop it burning, and to keep well hydrated by drinking lots of water.