Large swaths of the Sahara Desert in northern Africa are turning blue and green following a rare rain deluge that swept through the drought-stricken region in recent days.
Reports indicate that the normally dry, arid and brown landscape is now brimming with blue lagoons filled with water, trees and other signs of life in the Sahara's massive sand dunes.
The Sahara Desert saw more rain from the recent deluge than has occurred in decades. In southeastern Morocco, for instance, which is usually one of the most arid places in the world, rains fell in an unusual late-summer storm that has some scientists scratching their heads.
The Moroccan government says the two days of rainfall recorded exceeded the normal yearly averages in places like Tata, one of the most drought-stricken areas of the world, as well as in Tagounite, a village located to the south of the capital, and Rabat.
"The storms left striking images of water gushing through the Saharan sands amid castles and desert flora," The Associated Press (AP) reported. "NASA satellites showed water rushing in to fill Lake Iriqui, a famous lake bed between Zagora and Tata that had been dry for 50 years."
(Related: Be sure to check out our earlier report from last year about how the Sahara Desert is shrinking as more plants grow throughout the region, all thanks to rising levels of carbon dioxide.)
Greening deserts in the last days
It is normal for these areas to be dry as a bone with residents and tourists alike trekking across the hot sands in 4x4s, but now many areas are so filled with water that there is no longer a driving route through them.
"It's been 30 to 50 years since we've had this much rain in such a short space of time," commented Houssine Youabeb of Morocco's General Directorate of Meteorology.
Experts are calling the deluge an extratropical storm. They say it could change the course of the region's weather patterns for months or even years to come as the air above and around the Sahara Desert is becoming moister, which in turn causes more evaporation and storms to develop.
Morocco has faced a crippling six-year drought that because of its consecutive nature has created major challenges for farmers and city-dwellers alike who are simply not used to so much water.
The deluge is great news for Morocco's large groundwater aquifers, which really needed replenishment due to the prolonged drought conditions. Throughout the month of September, the region's dammed reservoirs reported filling at record rates, though it is still unknown if the September rains were enough to completely alleviate Morocco's drought status.
The bad news is that more than 20 people have died in Morocco and Algeria due to the rains, which damaged some farmers' harvests by flooding their fields with too much water. The Moroccan government is allocating emergency relief funds for those impacted by the storms, some of them having also been impacted by last year's earthquake.
Newsweek published a before-and-after series depicting the changes all this rain has brought to northern Africa. It is worth your time to have a look at the green-ification of the Sahara Desert in 2024 compared to 2023.
"The southern Sahara Desert is incredibly green this year due to a northward shift of the monsoon across Africa," tweeted extreme storm chaser Colin McCarthy.
The southern Sahara Desert is incredibly green this year due to a northward shift of the monsoon across Africa. pic.twitter.com/KWu0e0yhs9
— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) September 17, 2024
The climate may be changing in some areas, but is it really a bad thing? Find out more at Climate.news.
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