Sahara desert receives snowfall for 3rd time in four decades

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Part of the Sahara Desert recently received an ample sprinkling of snow during the early morning. The event marked the third time the Sahara had seen snow in the past 40 years.

According to The Independent, snow fell on the Algerian town of Ain Sefra. The area around this town has been described as “The Gateway to the Desert.”

The snow piled up to 40 centimeters deep, although it did not survive the rising temperature at midday.

Ain Sefra was founded in 1881 as a French garrison town. The place historically gets average temperatures of over 37 degrees Celsius in the summer and negative 10.2 degrees Celsius in the winter.

Photographer Karin Bouchetata captured sand dunes covered in snow and shared the photos on his Facebook page.

The United Kingdom’s Met Office weather service told said snow in the Sahara was “unusual but not unheard of.”

It explained that cold weather in Europe during the weekend might have pushed cold air into the area around Ain Sefra. Cold air combined with moisture in the air to produce the latest snowfall over the Sahara.  Alfred Bayle /ra

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