Rare Rainfall Transforms Sahara Desert in Morocco

Southeastern Morocco’s Sahara Desert, one of the world’s driest regions, experienced an unprecedented deluge, creating blue lagoons amidst palm trees and sand dunes, Arab News reported yesterday.

The Moroccan government reported that two days of rainfall in September surpassed annual averages in areas typically receiving less than 250 mm (10 inches) of rain. In Tagounite, over 100 mm (3.9 inches) fell within just 24 hours.

Meteorologists attribute this rare weather event to an extratropical storm, which could alter the region’s climate by increasing moisture retention and evaporation. Houssine Youabeb from Morocco’s General Directorate of Meteorology noted, “It’s been 30 to 50 years since we’ve had this much rain in such a short space of time.”

While the rainfall may help replenish vital groundwater aquifers and reservoirs, it has also caused devastation, resulting in over 20 fatalities in Morocco and Algeria and damaging crops. Emergency relief funds have been allocated in affected areas, some still recovering from last year’s earthquake. NASA satellites documented water filling Lake Iriqui, which had been dry for 50 years.