Sahara's green miracle: Desert blossoms after unprecedented heavy rainfall

The unusual rainfall in the Sahara was caused by the northward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, bringing equatorial-like downpours to the region

In a remarkable twist of nature, the Sahara Desert, one of the most arid landscapes on the planet, is experiencing an unexpected transformation. Following a powerful extratropical cyclone that swept through northwestern Africa on September 7 and 8, space agency Nasa’s satellite images revealed a surprising carpet of green sprouting across the desert. Regions in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, known for their droughts, are now showing patches of greenery due to heavy rainfall, according to Nasa’s Earth Observatory.
 

ABC News quoted Sylwia Trzaska, a climate researcher at the Columbia Climate School, as saying that shrubs and trees are flourishing in low-lying regions such as riverbeds. Peter de Menocal, president of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, remarked that while it’s uncommon, plant life in this part of Africa can respond swiftly to significant rainfall. During heavy downpours, dunes can quickly transform into vibrant green landscapes as vegetation seizes the opportunity to thrive on the available moisture.

Sahara’s green past

Research by de Menocal indicates that the Sahara was once a lush environment with vegetation and lakes between 11,000 and 5,000 years ago. Today, even normally arid lakes are replenishing due to recent heavy rains, as pointed out by Moshe Armon, a lecturer at the Institute of Earth Sciences at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
 

This unusual rainfall event was triggered by the northward shift of the tropical rain belt, known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone, which has moved further north than usual, resulting in equatorial-like downpours in the Sahara. Some areas received over half a foot of rain, far exceeding the average annual precipitation of just a few inches.

Shift in rain patterns

While these rains primarily impacted less populated areas, severe flooding has led to over 1,000 fatalities and affected around four million people across 14 African nations, according to reports from the World Food Programme and news agency Associated Press.

Experts suggest that the repositioning of the rain belt may be linked to record-high ocean temperatures and climate change, potentially altering rainfall patterns throughout Africa. However, as global ocean temperatures stabilise, de Menocal expects that the rain belt may revert to a more southerly position, possibly crossing the equator.

(With agency inputs)