A snow storm in Sahara desert took the people of the town by surprise. After 37 years since it was last seen, Ain Sefra, Algeria locals witnessed yesterday the unusually heavy snowfall.

Karim Bouchette, an amateur photographer in Ain Sefra, Algeria managed to capture the snow and the beautiful scenery created by photos. He also used the word stunned to describe the people's reaction on the rare occurrence at the moment, according to The Telegraph.

The Sahara snow storm covering the red dunes surrounded by the Atlas Mountains at 1,000 meters above sea level stayed for almost a day. This is a record way too long as compared to the last snow storm in the place which lasted to only about an hour.

Ain Sefra, Algeria, also known as "The Gateway to the Desert," experienced its first snow storm on February 18, 1979. And because snow landing on sand dunes is very rare, people were not expecting for the same thing to be happening again at least very soon.

The Sahara desert snow storm placed the 1984 Band-Aid prediction in a shaky ground as it has been proven wrong. The prediction said that "there won't be snow in Africa this Christmastime."

At 9 million square kilometers, Sahara desert is considered the world's largest hot desert covering most of the North Africa. It is also one of the highest and the driest place on the planet at 50 C (122 F).

Ain Sefra, Algeria is a French garrison town founded in 1881 experiences an average temperature of 37C in summer. During winter Ain Sefra temperature can go to as low as -10.2C.

Sahara desert, although known as a very dry land this moment, it is expected to be green once again in the next 15,000 years. The recent snow storm can possibly be an effect of the shifts in the desert's moisture and temperature shifts over the hundred thousand years, as reported by The Email Online.

Watch this video for more of the story.

Related