New Delhi: Snowfall recently occurred in the Sahara Desert in Northern Africa, the largest desert in the world. Pictures of the rare phenomenon have gone viral over the internet.
Temperatures dropped below freezing in the Sahara Desert due to which snow settled on the sand, and ice blanketed the sand dunes, according to media reports.
Temperatures as high as 136.4 degrees Fahrenheit (58 degrees Celsius) have been recorded in the largest desert in the world. It is also one of the hottest places in the world, along with Death Valley in California and certain cities near the equator like Dallol in Ethiopia and Wadi Halfa in Sudan.
Photographer Karim Bouchetata recently captured breathtaking pictures of the town of Aïn-Séfra covered in snow and ice and shared them on social media.
The town of Aïn-Séfra, located in the Naama province in northwestern Algeria, is known as "The Gateway to the Sahara". It is around 3,000 feet (almost 1,000 metres) above sea level and is surrounded by the Atlas Mountains. There is water scarcity in the region, and sand dunes can be as high as 180 metres.
Temperatures plummeted to -2 degrees Celsius in Aïn-Séfra overnight, and resulted in snowfall.
The pictures show beautiful patterns created by the snow on the sand.
Earlier, snowfall occurred in the desert in 1979, 2016, 2018, and 2021.
North Africa experienced extreme temperatures in the summer and winter months last year. Pictures show a snow blanket covering the Saharan dunes, and camels and sheep being surrounded by snow.
Each year, the amount of snowfall has varied. In 1979, there was a snowstorm, while in 2018, the desert received 40 cm of snowfall.
Over the past few hundred thousand years, the Sahara Desert has gone through shifts in temperature and moisture.
The desert is very dry today. However, it is expected to become green again in about 15,000 years.
What Causes Snowfall In The Sahara Desert?
During summer, temperatures in Aïn-Séfra regularly soar above 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius, while in January, temperatures are much milder, according to a report by Sky News.
The temperatures can be around 57 degrees Fahrenheit (14 degrees Celsius).
The climate crisis is unpredictable and could be responsible for such rare phenomena. According to a study published in the journal Science, cold weather events could be attributed to the Arctic warming.
Quoting Roman Vilfand, head of Russia’s Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, a report by Russian news agency TASS said that the climate crisis could play a role in Saharan snowfall.