Snow fell in one of the hottest places on Earth: the Sahara Desert on Algerian territory, near the Ain Sefra town. The strange phenomenon took place on Sunday near the town called by locals “Gateway to Sahara”. This was the third snow in nearly 40 years.
15-inches on snow in the Sahara Desert
According to some sources, parts of the desert were covered in 15 inches of snow, while the Ain Sefra officials have reported less than one inch of snow. It is not a normal natural event in these parts of the world, where the heat can be excruciating for tourists. The images posted by those who witnessed the snow show the brown sand covered in snow, almost looking like powdered sugar on top of a dessert.
The snow might stick for a while
If during the day the temperatures are quite high, at night the temperatures can reach negative numbers. This means that the snow might remain on the desert for a while, at least in places where it was a few inched tall.
Photographer Karim Bouchetata who was there to capture the rare phenomenon declared it was a shock to wake up the next day after the snow and observe it had not melted.
Last year snowed as well in the Sahara desert
Over the last two years, snow has fallen near the town of Ain Sefra. The last recorded snow was 37 seven years ago, meaning that for most locals this was the first time they saw the desert covered with white snowflakes.
Some reports say that the 40 cm layers of snow were visible on Sunday afternoon, hours after it started in the morning. Perhaps the happiest ones were children who raced to the desert and played in the snow. It is unknown when a phenomenon like this will take place again.
