Breathtaking photos! Snow blankets Sahara Desert for the third time in 40 years

Jan 09, 2018, 05.01 PM IST

Rare view: Snow blankets Sahara Desert

Up to 16 inches of snow has fallen on a town in the Sahara desert after a freak winter storm hit the area.

In pic: View of snow in the Sahara, Ain Sefra, Algeria.

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Reuters

Unexpected flurry

The unexpected flurry marked the third time in 37 years that the town of Ain Sefra in Algeria has seen snow cover the red sand dunes of the desert.

Image: twitter.com/Discover_DZ

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Ain Sefra: Gateway to the Sahara

The town of Ain Sefra in Algeria is known as the gateway to the Sahara—the hottest desert in the world.

Image: twitter.com/Discover_DZ

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Snow-covered slope

The typical red sand dunes which stretch out as far as the eye can see were covered in a blanket of white.

In pic: A man looks at at a snow-covered slope in the Sahara, Ain Sefra, Algeria.

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Reuters

Red sand dunes turn white

While the town itself only saw an inch or two, the sand dunes on its outskirts took a dumping.

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Agencies

Deeper snowfall

The snowfall which hit recently is much deeper than the fleeting shower little more than a year ago.

Image: twitter.com/Discover_DZ/

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Snowfall extremely rare

Ain Sefra is at a considerable height and snowfall here is extremely rare.

Image: Karim Bouchetata/Geoff Robinson

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Reason of snowfall

According to meteorological experts, the most recent snowfall was a result of high pressure in Europe pulling in cold air southwards into north Africa.

Image: Karim Bouchetata/Geoff Robinson

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Earlier snowfalls

Snowfall was also spotted in 2016 and 2017.

Image: Karim Bouchetata/Geoff Robinson

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Global warming

The Sahara Desert covers most of Northern Africa and it has gone through shifts in temperature and moisture over the past few hundred thousand years.

Image: Karim Bouchetata/Geoff Robinson