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January 20,2022

Anna Murray 

When temperatures dropped to -2 degrees Celsius overnight on January 19, snow fell in the Saharan town of Ain Sefra, located in Algeria's northwestern region.

Ain Sefra, the Gateway to the Desert, is located 3,000 feet above sea level and is surrounded by the Atlas Mountains. Ice encased the sand in an unprecedented phenomenon in the world's most scorching desert, where temperatures reached 58 degrees Celsius (136.4 degrees Fahrenheit). Snow fell for the fifth time in 42 years in the Saharan town of Ain Sefra, Algeria, near the Moroccan border, as temperatures dropped to -2 degrees Celsius overnight (28 degrees Fahrenheit).

Ain Sefra has average high temperatures of around 37 degrees Celsius in the summer and record lows of -10.2 degrees Celsius in the winter. The town has seen snow for the fifth time in 42 years, with prior occurrences in 1979, 2016, 2018, and 2021.