RABAT, Morocco—The Sahara desert's palm palms and sand dunes are home to blue lagoons of water created by an unusual downpour of rain, providing some of the region's driest areas with more water than they have in decades.
The desert in southeast Morocco is one of the driest areas on Earth, with very little rain falling there in the late summer months.
According to the Moroccan government, two days in September saw more rain than usual in a number of locations that typically receive less than 10 inches annually, including Tata, which was among the most impacted. In Tagounite, a hamlet situated around 280 miles south of Rabat, the capital, more than 3.9 inches fell in a single day.
Picturesque scenes of water rushing over the Saharan dunes amid castles and desert vegetation were captured by the storms. NASA satellites captured the famed lake bed between Zagora and Tata, Lake Iriqui, which had been dry for fifty years, as water rushed in to fill it.
4x4s roared through the puddles in tourist-heavy desert settlements, while locals stared in wonder at the sight.
“It’s been 30 to 50 years since we’ve had this much rain in such a short space of time,” said Houssine Youabeb of Morocco’s General Directorate of Meteorology.
These kinds of rains, which meteorologists are referring to as an extratropical storm, have the potential to alter the future weather patterns of the area since they are retaining more moisture in the air, which increases evaporation and attracts other storms, according to Youabeb.
Much of Morocco has faced difficulties as a result of the six years of drought, which has forced farmers to leave fields untended and forced cities and villages to ration water.
The abundant precipitation will probably contribute to replenishing the vast groundwater reserves underneath the desert, which are essential for providing water to those living in the desert. Throughout September, the region's dammed reservoirs were reported to be refilling at historic rates. The extent to which September's rains will lessen the drought is unknown, though.
Over 20 people lost their lives as a result of water rushing through the oasis and dunes in Morocco and Algeria, damaging farmers' crops and compelling the government to provide emergency assistance monies, some of which went to the places impacted by the earthquake that occurred a year ago.
