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WHITE CHRISTMAS IN THE DESERT

Snow falls in the Sahara for the second time in living memory

Astonishing pictures show the parched sand coated by a thin layer of bright and beautiful snowfall

PEOPLE living in the Sahara have been treated to the closest thing to a white Christmas they will probably ever experience.

The desert has been dusted by snowfall for just the second time in living memory.

The snow fell to the ground and lasted about a day before melting away
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The snow fell to the ground and lasted about a day before melting awayCredit: GEOFF ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHY
The beautiful snowfall made the desert look like an ice cream DESSERT
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The beautiful snowfall made the desert look like an ice cream DESSERTCredit: GEOFF ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographer Karim Bouchetata captured astonishing pictures of snow covering the sand in the small Saharan desert town of Ain Sefra, Algeria.

Karim said: "Everyone was stunned to see snow falling in the desert, it is such a rare occurrence.

"It looked amazing as the snow settled on the sand and made a great set of photos.

"The snow stayed for about a day and has now melted away."

The last time snow fall in the world's largest desert was 37 years ago, when a snowstorm struck Ain Sefra, known as "The Gateway to the Desert," on February 18, 1979.

Snowfall is vanishingly rare in the Sahara, with the last record flurry of snow taking place almost four decades ago
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Snowfall is vanishingly rare in the Sahara, with the last record flurry of snow taking place almost four decades agoCredit: GEOFF ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHY
Another view of the stunning and super-rare snowfall
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Another view of the stunning and super-rare snowfallCredit: GEOFF ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHY

This tiny flurry lasted just half an hour and left behind snow which stayed on the ground for about one day.

Earlier this year, residents of sun-baked Saudi Arabia also woke up to a rather unexpected blanket of snow.

Plunging temperatures saw the arid desert land turned into a bizarre one-day winter wonderland, as freezing conditions quickly took hold.

In just four hours of snow, a significant layer of snow settled on the golden sands as cold weather moved across the desert nation.

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