The Algerian town of Ain Sefra, deep in the dry, hot Sahara desert was hit by a freak snowfall on December 19. It’s the first time snow has fallen in the region in 37 years.

Amateur photographer Karim Bouchetata took stunning pictures of snow falling on the world’s largest hot desert. Bouchetata took the photographs on December 19 in a small Saharan desert town of Ain Sefra, Algeria.

“Everyone was stunned to see snow falling in the desert; it is such a rare occurrence,” Bouchetata explained.

“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.”

Further, reports indicate this may be the second time in all of the history snow has fallen in the desert. Snow falling on sand dunes is extremely rare, Live Science said.

“On February 18, 1979, low altitude areas of the Sahara desert recorded their first snowfall in living memory,” the site reported.

“Snow fell in spots of Southern Algeria, where a half-hour snowstorm stopped traffic.” One of the hottest regions in the world; temperatures in Sahara have surpassed 47 °C (117 °F) in the past.

 
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