Ice covers the Sahara Desert for just fourth time in over 40 years
Nathan Howes
Monday, January 25th 2021, 7:52 pm - The icy occurrence in the Sahara Desert doesn t typically last long, so photographer Karim Bouchetata was certainly in the right spot at the right time.
While the Sahara Desert is usually known for its hot, uninhabitable conditions, wintry-like phenomena has happened before. It just doesn t happen often.
In fact, when it occurred last week, it was only the fourth time in the last 42 years that a thin layer of ice formed in the Sahara. Local photographer Karim Bouchetata was there to capture it on camera.
Famous DaVinci Replica Returned to Italian Museum After Who Knows How Long
Italian police had the rare pleasure of cracking a case before it hatched this week when a replica of a famous Leonardo DaVinci painting was returned to a Naples museum before anyone even knew it was missing.
The 16
th century copy of DaVinci’s “Salvator Mundi” was last accounted for in January 2020 when the Museodoma San Domenico Maggiore closed its doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the astute deduction that it was heisted at some point in the last year.
Though when and how someone broke into the museum is yet to be revealed, Naples prosecutor Giovanni Melillo speculated that “it is plausible that it was a commissioned theft by an organization working in the international art trade.”
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The Sahara Desert, the largest desert in the world located on the outskirts of the town of Ain Sefra, in northwestern Algeria, was covered by ice for the 4th time in 50 years. The dunes were streaked with ice crystals covering expansive areas beyond what the eye can see.
(Photo : Carl Larson)
Surrounded by the Atlas Mountains, near the Algerian-Moroccan border, Ain Sefra is 3,280 feet (1,000 meters) above sea level.
Sky News reported that while summer temperatures in northeastern Algeria regularly rise above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celcius), the days in January average a much older 57 F (14 C).
The display of ethereal frost on Tuesday followed a rare night of 27-F (minus 3 C) temperatures.
Rare Snowfall Dusts The Sahara Desert
It was a rare sight in the Sahara as snow began to fall, leaving a glistening pattern of ice on the dunes. SHARE ON:
Famous DaVinci Replica Returned to Italian Museum After Who Knows How Long
Italian police had the rare pleasure of cracking a case before it hatched this week when a replica of a famous Leonardo DaVinci painting was returned to a Naples museum before anyone even knew it was missing.
The 16
th century copy of DaVinci’s “Salvator Mundi” was last accounted for in January 2020 when the Museodoma San Domenico Maggiore closed its doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the astute deduction that it was heisted at some point in the last year.
The Sahara is famously hot, dry, and generally inhospitable. Yes, it does rain, and yes it is dotted with occasional green oases, but it s a very rare occasion to see it sparkling in the sunlight due to a smattering of frost.
In fact, this week this rare occurrence marks only the fourth time in the last 42 years it s happened. Luckily, local photographer Karim Bouchetata was there to catch it.
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The Sahara (meaning desert) is the largest hot desert in the world, stretching 8.6 million kilometers (3.3 million miles) across North Africa from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, so seeing a smattering of white over the red is quite unusual. Africa does, of course, have snow. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is famously topped by a snowy cap, while in the Atlas Mountains just 72 kilometers (45 miles) from Marrakech, Oukaimeden has the unlikely honor of being Africa’s highest ski resort at 3,200 meters (10,500 feet).