Bitter cold in very dry environment (5)
I believe the answer is:
acrid
'bitter cold in very dry environment' is the definition.
'acrid' can be an answer for 'bitter' (I've seen this before). I'm not sure about the 'cold in very dry environment' bit.
'bitter cold in very dry' is the wordplay.
'bitter' suggests taking the first letters (I've seen 'bit of' mean this).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'very dry' becomes 'arid' (I've seen this before).
The first letter of 'cold' is 'c'.
'c' inserted into 'arid' is 'ACRID'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for acrid that I've seen before include "Unpleasantly pungent" , "Having a bitter smell or taste" , "Strong and sharp" , "Sharp - biting" , "causing corrosion" .)