For the first time in over 50 years, the Sahara Desert, one of the driest regions on Earth, has experienced significant rainfall. Over the past two days, continuous downpours in Morocco have shattered the country’s yearly average rainfall record. According to Morocco’s Meteorological Center, an isolated village located 450 kilometers from the capital, Rabat, saw approximately 10 centimeters of rain in just 24 hours.
This sudden and intense rainfall in the Sahara Desert has captured the attention of meteorologists. Experts noted that this is the heaviest rain the region has experienced in half a century. NASA satellite images confirmed this, showing that Lake Iriki, a lake that has been dry for the past 50 years, is now filled with water.
The images of water pooling in the vast, arid desert have quickly gone viral on social media, leading many to wonder if this could be linked to climate change.
Comparisons are being drawn to a similar event in April 2024, when Dubai experienced a year’s worth of rain in a single day, marking the heaviest rainfall in the area’s 75-year history. The deadly storm in Dubai left parts of the city underwater and caused significant damage, killing over 20 people in Oman. Scientists believe climate change likely played a role in intensifying these storms. Could the same phenomenon be impacting the Sahara?
While these floods are rare, some scientists believe they might offer a glimpse into the Sahara’s distant future. Researchers estimate that in about 1,500 years, the Sahara could begin to transform into a greener, more fertile area. This would happen as the Earth slowly tilts its axis by 22 to 24.5 degrees, a shift that occurs over millennia. As this change happens, the desert’s arid climate may become more temperate, allowing for increased vegetation growth.
Currently, the Sahara spans an immense 92 lakh square kilometers, more than twice the size of India. It stretches across 10 countries in North, Central, and West Africa, including Morocco, Algeria, Mali, Mauritania, Tunisia, Libya, Niger, Chad, Sudan, and Egypt. The desert is the largest in the world, known for its extreme dryness, high temperatures, and vast expanses of sand dunes.
The recent rainfalls could have significant, though temporary, impacts on the region’s climate. Scientists predict that the sudden increase in humidity will cause more storms to develop. The added moisture in the air will lead to higher rates of evaporation, which can fuel more intense weather patterns in the desert for months or even years to come.
In fact, extreme weather events are not entirely new to the region. Last month, 18 people died in Morocco due to severe flooding. In 2022, Algeria, often referred to as the gateway to the Sahara, experienced a rare snowstorm. This marked the fifth time in 42 years that snowfall was recorded in the region. Following the snow, temperatures in the area dropped to -2 degrees Celsius, a striking contrast to the usual scorching heat the desert is known for.
The intensity and frequency of these unusual weather events have raised questions about whether climate change is a driving factor. Rising global temperatures are contributing to more erratic and extreme weather patterns worldwide, and deserts like the Sahara are not immune to these changes.
