From desert to oasis: Heavy rainfall redraws Sahara’s arid terrain
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The Sahara, covering 9.2 million sq km, is the largest desert on Earth outside the polar regions.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
The vast sand dunes of the Sahara Desert in North Africa are now accompanied by shimmering, expansive lakes.
No, it is not a mirage, but the result of intense downpours in the desert over Sept 7 and 8, its first floods in half a century, British news outlet The Guardian reported.
It is the result of a cyclone blowing through north-western Sahara, drenching swathes of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.
Renowned for its barren and arid landscapes, some desert areas experienced nearly 203mm of rain then, according to Nasa’s satellite data. While it rains in the desert, the amount of rainfall each year is typically minimal.
In Errachidia, a city in south-eastern Morocco, rainfall totalled close to 76mm – more than quadruple the monthly average for September. This deluge amounted to over half a year’s worth of rainfall for the region, according to local meteorological reports.
“We haven’t seen rainfall of this magnitude in such a short time frame for 30 to 50 years,” said Mr Houssine Youabeb from Morocco’s national weather service in an interview with the Associated Press.
The heavy rain dramatically altered the desert’s scenery, turning barren stretches into shimmering bodies of water. Palm trees now cast reflections across newly formed lagoons, while sand dunes loom in the background.
Nasa satellite data indicated that some areas in the Sahara desert saw nearly eight inches of rain (right) – a staggering amount for this typically parched (left) landscape.
PHOTOS: NASA
The rainfall also replenished typically dry lakes, including one in Iriqui National Park, the largest park in Morocco, and the Sebkha el Melah salt lake in central Algeria. Nasa’s satellite imagery, enhanced to highlight the flooding, reveals these newly created lakes scattered across the Sahara’s north-western expanse.
Only six other instances of heavy rain had led to the filling of the Algerian lake, according to a 21-year study of rain data in the area, cited in a Nasa report.
While much of the rain fell on isolated, sparsely populated areas, some towns and villages were heavily impacted. Flash floods caused by the sudden downpour resulted in the deaths of more than a dozen people.
The Sahara, covering 9.2 million sq km, is the largest desert on earth outside the polar regions.
Experts warn that as the planet continues to warm, the Sahara may see more frequent and intense rainfall events, and thus, more floods.
