After two days of rare rainfall in southeastern Morocco, parts of the Sahara Desert, one of the world’s most dry and arid places, saw significant flooding for the first time in 50 years.
According to Morocco’s meteorology agency, Tagounite, a village 450km south of Rabat, received over 100mm of rain in just 24 hours in September, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
The met agency also reported that in just two days, September’s rainfall exceeded the yearly average of 250 mm, including in most arid areas.
Satellite images by NASA reveal that the deluge has refilled Lake Iriqui, a dry lake bed between Zagora and Tata for half a century.
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“It’s been 30 to 50 years since we’ve had this much rain in such a short space of time,” Houssine Youabeb, an official of Morocco’s meteorology agency, told the AP.
Meteorologists predict an extratropical storm that could alter weather patterns in the region due to increased evaporation and moisture retention, potentially leading to more frequent storms, Youabeb added.
In September, at least 18 people were killed in Morocco due to floods, affecting regions affected by an earthquake in 2023.
Here are satellite image by NASA of the Sahara Desert
