Why are deserts mostly located on the western side of continents?

Question

I read somewhere in a book that mostly desert found in the western part of a continent. So my question is that why is it so? I searched on the internet but I didn't get a reasonable answer for that.

Answer 1

This is because cold ocean currents tend be along the western side of continents rather than warm ocean currents. With cold ocean currents being present, this makes it where temperatures can't rise as well since cold air is denser than warm air. You need rising air for clouds and precipitation to form. Therefore, deserts will tend to be along the western sides of continents as these areas often have sinking air rather than rising air.