A rare event that happened for the fourth time in the last 42 years
Algeria, Jan 21: The Sahara Desert is one of the hottest spots on earth. Recently it experienced a rare event – snowfall.
Ain Sefra, known as the “Gateway to the Desert”, is around 1,000 meters above sea level and surrounded by the Atlas Mountains. It is in the Naama province of Algeria, which is a part of the Sahara Desert. It was here that the temperatures recently dropped below the freezing point to -2 degrees Celsius. So it began to snow and the desert sand dunes were covered by blanket of ice. The place was not equipped to manage the sudden snowfall and as a result, vehicles were stranded on the icy roads. The thawing ice created beautiful patterns on the sand.
A local photographer captured the pictures and videos of the event which went viral over the social media. Ain Sefra has already experienced snow in 1979, 2016, and 2018. January is the coldest month here with an average temperature of 14 degrees Celsius.
