Orange dunes of the Sahara are now covered in blankets of snow!
| Updated: Jan 10, 2018, 15:12 IST
It's quite the time for weird weather. Do you agree? Well, you will after what we're just about to show you. On Sunday, Ain Sefra, a desert town in Algeria known as the "Gateway to the Sahara", one of the hottest places on the earth, experienced a substantial amount of snow for reportedly the third time in 40 years. Some reports say parts of the area got nearly 15 inches of snow. Now, this is an unusual phenomenon.
It's not uncommon for the temperature across even the hottest of deserts to plunge tens of degrees Fahrenheit at night, meaning any unusual snow could stick around for a while. But photographers at the scene said the snow actually stayed intact for a good portion of the day. While snow is historically scant in the desert area, a similar snow phenomenon happened last year too. Before that, it had been 37 years since Ain Sefra's last snowfall.
“It’s rare, but it’s not that rare,” said Mr Haarsma, a climate researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. “There is exceptional weather at all places, and this did not happen because of climate change” he continued. The snow fell in the Sahara at altitudes of more than 3,000 feet, where temperatures are low anyway. But Mr Haarsma said cold air blowing in from the North Atlantic was responsible.
Takes your breath away, doesn't it?
It's not uncommon for the temperature across even the hottest of deserts to plunge tens of degrees Fahrenheit at night, meaning any unusual snow could stick around for a while. But photographers at the scene said the snow actually stayed intact for a good portion of the day. While snow is historically scant in the desert area, a similar snow phenomenon happened last year too. Before that, it had been 37 years since Ain Sefra's last snowfall.
“It’s rare, but it’s not that rare,” said Mr Haarsma, a climate researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. “There is exceptional weather at all places, and this did not happen because of climate change” he continued. The snow fell in the Sahara at altitudes of more than 3,000 feet, where temperatures are low anyway. But Mr Haarsma said cold air blowing in from the North Atlantic was responsible.
Takes your breath away, doesn't it?