The Sahara desert turns white, it snows for the first time in 11 years

The Sahara desert has been covered with snow these days.

In the media and social networks, rare images of the largest desert in the world, which was whitened by snow, have been published.

Images by photographer Karim Bouchetata show snow and ice near the town of Ain Sefra in northwestern Algeria.

The region has experienced snow only a few times in the last 40 years. The only snowfalls in Ain Sefra were recorded in 1979, 2017, 2018 and 2021.

Ain Sefra is in the Atlas Mountains, 1000 meters above sea level and is called the "gateway to the desert". It is located in the Naama province of Algeria, close to the Moroccan border. When the desert turned white with snow, temperatures had dropped to -2 C.

? #??????? .. ?????? #???????? ??????? #???_????? ??????? ????? ????? pic.twitter.com/UkGAuUFukh

— EL BILAD – ?????? (@El_Bilade) January 24, 2023

We all know the Sahara as the driest desert in the world, with temperatures reaching up to 50 C. The vast desert stretches across 11 countries: Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Western Sahara, Sudan and Tunisia. Sand dunes can reach up to 180 meters high and water is scarce in the region.

Sahara Desert under snow!! #ARGELIA #África pic.twitter.com/IXarIy98iz

— Gültekin ??? (@Cgultekin34) January 26, 2023