Snow covers desert town Ain Sefra for the second time this winter, Algeria

Small Algerian town of Ain Sefra, located in a region known as the gateway to the desert, is making headlines again after its sand dunes were covered by second snowfall this winter on Monday, February 5, 2018.

Snow has already covered northern Algeria's desert around the city of Ain Sefra for the second winter in a row on January 7, 2018, but the town has seen another round of snow less than one month later.

Although the latest snow is not as deep as it was at the beginning of January when an estimated 40 cm (16 inches) fell on mountains on the outskirts of the town, locals were happy to see it again and are saying it is becoming a tradition in their town.

While snow in this region is rare, it is not unprecedented. However, what is unusual is that this is the second winter in a row that Ain Sefra saw measurable snow and even more unusual – the second time this year within a month.

Images below are provided by photographer Karim Bouchetata:

Ain Sefra, Algeria snowfall on February 5, 2018

Ain Sefra, Algeria snow on February 6, 2018

Ain Sefra, Algeria snow on February 6, 2018

See the rest of images captured by Karim on February 5 and 6 below:

and compare it with the snow on January 7:

For a bigger picture, here is NASA/USGS Landsat-8 image acquired on January 8, 2018 draped over a global digital elevation model:

NASA/USGS Landsat-8 image acquired January 8, 2018 draped over a global digital elevation model, built from data acquired by NASA’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission.

Featured image: Ain Sefra, Algeria snow on February 6, 2018. Credit: Karim Bouchetata