Snow Falls In Sahara Desert, Temperature Reaching -2 Degrees Celsius

According to the Daily Mail, in recent days, the Aïn Séfra town, which is known as “Gateway to the Sahara Desert” has witnessed quite unusual weather phenomena. When the temperature reached -2 degrees Celsius, heavy snowfall fell and covered sand dunes in the area.

Photographer Karim Bouchetata takes a series of pictures of snow covering the Sahara desert’s white sand. The white snow on the yellow sand dunes creates an impressive scene at Aïn Séfra town.

The town of Aïn Séfra locates at an altitude of about 1,000 meters above sea level, surrounded by the Atlas range. The average winter temperature in January is about 6 degrees Celsius and the lowest is recorded at only -0.3 degrees Celsius. However, snowfall is very rare here.

The Sahara desert covers most of North Africa and is known as one of the harshest and hottest places on the planet. Although temperatures often drop at night, snowfall is an uncommon weather phenomenon due to the low humidity.

Statistically, in more than 40 years, this is the 4th time the Sahara desert has seen snow. The first time happened on February 18, 1979. But it only snowed for about half an hour. The most recent snowfall took place on January 11, 2018.

Scientists stated that temperature, humidity as well as weather factors in the Sahara have changed over the past few hundred thousand years. Although the desert is very dry today, it is expected to become green again in about 15,000 years.

Besides the Sahara desert, some countries in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia have also experienced snowfall in recent days. Specifically, the Tabuk area in the northwestern part of the country was covered with thick layers of snow and ice. The temperature had also dropped to -2 degrees Celsius, marking the first time in 50 years that Saudi Arabia has recorded a temperature lower than 0 degrees Celsius.

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