Rare: skiing together in... the Sahara desert

On January 20, a meter of snow fell in the town of Ain Sefra - the gateway to the Sahara desert, surprising and delighting locals and tourists.

People enjoy skiing in the Sahara - Photo: Zineddine Hashas/Geoff Robinson Photography

According to Mirror, this is said to be the heaviest snowfall in the area and has caused chaos as vehicles cannot move and many people are stuck. However, this phenomenon still makes many people excited, with many people inviting each other to go skiing.

"It snowed at around 1.30am this morning and is now a metre deep in some places. People can't believe how much snow there is," said photographer Sekkouri Kamel, 38.

This is the third time snow has fallen in the Sahara Desert. The first was in 1979, but it only lasted about half an hour. The second was just before Christmas, when snow fell in Ain Sefra for nearly a day, turning the desert’s red dunes white.

Ain Sefra is located at an altitude of about 1,000 meters above sea level, surrounded by the Atlas Mountains. It is the gateway to the Sahara - the largest hot desert in the world.

This desert stretches across much of northern Africa. Over the past hundreds of thousands of years, it has experienced changes in temperature and humidity. Scientists predict that the Sahara will become green in about 15,000 years.

The town of Ain Sefra rarely sees snow - Photo: Zineddine Hashas/Geoff Robinson Photography

On January 20, the whole town was covered in white snow - Photo: Zineddine Hashas/Geoff Robinson Photography

The unusual weather completely changed the landscape here - Photo: Zineddine Hashas/Geoff Robinson Photography

Sand hidden in the snow creates a strange image - Photo: Zineddine Hashas/Geoff Robinson Photography

According to TTO