(Newswire.net — December 22, 2016) —December snowfall is a normal occurrence in the northern hemisphere. But snowfall in the desert is anything but expected.
This is exactly what happened on Monday December 19th in the afternoon. Snow fell in the Algerian part of the Sahara Desert, and this was only the second time throughout history that snow fell in the world’s largest hot and sandy desert.
A small Saharan desert town, Ain Sefra, was hit by unseen snowfall. Residents were stunned by this rare weather occurrence.
The weather phenomenon was very short-lived. The snow settled for a day, after which it melted away. The residents of Ain Sefra, the town which is referred to as “The Gateway to the Desert”, had a rare and unforgettable experience.
Photographer, Karim Bouchetata, said to the Independent that it was amazing to see the snow landing on the sand. Bouchetata captured gorgeous images of the red rolling dunes covered in white.
Ain Sefra is 1,078 meters above sea level and is surrounded by the Atla Mountains.
This is only the second snow fall in the Sahara Desert. The last time snowfall was recorded was 37 years ago.
On Feb. 18, 1979, a low altitude areas of the Sahara desert recorded their first snowfall in living history. Snow fell in spots of southern Algeria, where a half-hour mild snowstorm disrupted traffic.
The Sahara Desert is the world’s largest hot desert covering 9 million square kilometers and covers most of North Africa. The Sahara spans through many African countries – Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Sudan and Tunisia.
This desert is one of the driest and hottest places on Earth. Temperatures in the Sahara Desert can even exceed 117 F.
The desert snowfall has caused a slew of social media commentaries claiming that this event proves that global warming is nothing but an elaborate hoax. But, according to NASA and nearly all climate scientists, man-made climate change is a global threat well under its way.