RABAT: A rare deluge of rainfall left blue lagoons of water amid the palm trees and sand dunes of the Sahara desert, nourishing some of its most drought-stricken regions with more water than many had seen in decades.
Southeastern Morocco’s desert is among the most arid places in the world and rarely experiences rain in late summer.
The Moroccan government said two days of rainfall in September had exceeded yearly averages in several areas that get an average of less than 250 millimeters (10 inches) annually, including Tata, one of the areas hit hardest. In Tagounite, a village about 450 km (280 miles) south of the capital Rabat, more than 100 mm (3.9 inches) was recorded in a 24-hour period.
The storms provided more rainfall than had been seen in decades, leaving striking images of bountiful water gushing through the Saharan sands amid castles and desert flora.
In desert communities frequented by the many tourists who visit the Sahara, 4x4s motored through the puddles and residents surveyed the scene in awe.
“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.
Such rains, which meteorologists are calling an extratropical storm, may indeed change the course of the region’s weather in months and years to come as the air retains more moisture, causing more evaporation and drawing more storms, Youabeb said.
Six consecutive years of drought have posed challenges for much of Morocco, forcing farmers to leave fields fallow and cities and villages to ration water consumption.
The bounty of rainfall will likely help refill the large groundwater aquifers that lie beneath the desert and are relied upon to supply water in desert communities. The region’s dammed reservoirs reported refilling at record rates throughout September. However, it’s unclear how far September’s rains will go toward alleviating drought.
Yet water gushing through the sands and oases left more than 20 dead in Morocco and Algeria and damaged the farmers’ harvests, forcing the government to allocate emergency relief funds, including in some areas affected by last year’s earthquake.
NASA satellites showed water rushing in to fill Lake Iriqui, a famous lakebed between Zagora and Tata that had been dry for 50 years.
Water gushes through palm trees and sand dunes after rare rain in the Sahara Desert
Water gushes through palm trees and sand dunes after rare rain in the Sahara Desert
- Southeastern Morocco’s desert is among the most arid places in the world and rarely experiences rain in late summer
Ukraine backs Pope’s call for Olympic truce in war with Russia
KYIV: Ukraine has backed a call for a ceasefire in the war with Russia during the Winter Olympics after Italy and Pope Leo urged world leaders to use the Milano Cortina games to further peace.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told Reuters that Ukraine supported the proposal during the February 6–22 Winter Olympics and a corresponding United Nations resolution calling for a global truce. He said it was up to Russia to clarify its position.
“We support this appeal,” he said in an interview in Kyiv. “We are interested in a ceasefire and if Russia once again rejects, it will once again confirm who is the obstacle for peace and who wants to continue this war.”
Pope Leo on Sunday invoked what he said was the ancient tradition of the Olympic truce and called on people in positions of power to take real steps toward de-escalation and dialogue in the name of peace.
Ukraine is locked in brutal fighting with Russia nearly four years after Moscow’s troops poured over the border in a full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russian forces occupy nearly a fifth of Ukraine and have been bombarding the power grid.
The United States is trying to broker a settlement and has held rounds of talks between Ukraine and Russia in an effort to end the war.
“Let’s stop and it will definitely open a path for broader peace negotiations,” Sybiha said.
