RABAT, Morocco (AP) — A uncommon deluge of rainfall left blue lagoons of water amid the palm timber and sand dunes of the Sahara desert, nourishing a few of its most drought-stricken areas with extra water than many had seen in many years.
Southeastern Morocco’s desert is among the many most arid locations on the earth and infrequently experiences rain in late summer time.
Palm timber are flooded in a lake attributable to heavy rainfall within the desert city of Merzouga, close to Rachidia, southeastern Morocco, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Picture)
A automobile transports vacationers on sand dunes subsequent to a lake attributable to heavy rainfall within the desert city of Merzouga, close to Rachidia, southeastern Morocco, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Picture)
The Moroccan authorities stated two days of rainfall in September had exceeded yearly averages in a number of areas that get a median of lower than 250 millimeters (10 inches) yearly, together with Tata, one of many areas hit hardest. In Tagounite, a village about 450 kms (280 miles) south of the capital Rabat, greater than 100 mm (3.9 inches) was recorded in a 24-hour interval.
The storms supplied extra rainfall than had been seen in many years, leaving hanging photos of bountiful water gushing by way of the Saharan sands amid castles and desert flora.
In desert communities frequented by the numerous vacationers who go to the Sahara, 4x4s motored by way of the puddles and residents surveyed the scene in awe.
“It’s been 30 to 50 years since we’ve had this a lot rain in such a brief area of time,” stated Houssine Youabeb of Morocco’s Common Directorate of Meteorology.
Such rains, which meteorologists are calling an extratropical storm, could certainly change the course of the area’s climate in months and years to return because the air retains extra moisture, inflicting extra evaporation and drawing extra storms, Youabeb stated.
A view of lakes attributable to heavy rainfall between sand dunes within the desert city of Merzouga, close to Rachidia, southeastern Morocco, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Picture)
Palm timber are mirrored in a lake attributable to heavy rainfall within the desert city of Merzouga, close to Rachidia, southeastern Morocco, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Picture)
Six consecutive years of drought have posed challenges for a lot of Morocco, forcing farmers to depart fields fallow and cities and villages to ration water consumption.
The bounty of rainfall will possible assist refill the big groundwater aquifers that lie beneath the desert and are relied upon to provide water in desert communities. The area’s dammed reservoirs reported refilling at file charges all through September. Nonetheless, it’s unclear how far September’s rains will go towards assuaging drought.
An oasis is mirrored in a lake attributable to heavy rainfall within the desert city of Merzouga, close to Rachidia, southeastern Morocco, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Picture)
But water gushing by way of the sands and oases left greater than 20 useless in Morocco and Algeria and broken the farmers’ harvests, forcing the federal government to allocate emergency aid funds, together with in some areas affected by final yr’s earthquake.
NASA satellites confirmed water dashing in to fill Lake Iriqui, a well-known lakebed between Zagora and Tata that had been dry for 50 years.
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Ahmed reported from Bamako, Mali.
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