INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Striking images from the Sahara Desert show large lakes etched into rolling sand dunes after one of the most arid, barren places in the
world was hit with its first floods in decades.The Sahara does experience rain, but usually just a few inches a year and rarely in late
Over two days in September, however, intense rain fell in parts of the desert in southeast Morocco, after a low pressure system pushed
across northwestern Sahara.Preliminary NASA satellite data showed nearly 8 inches of rain in some parts of the region.Errachidia, a desert
city in southeast Morocco, recorded nearly 3 inches of rainfall, most of it across just two days last month
agency told AP last week.As the rain flowed over the desert terrain, it created a new, watery landscape amid the palm trees and scrubby
flora.Some of the most dramatic images are from the desert town of Merzouga, where the rare deluge carved new lakes into the sand dunes.The
NASA satellite images from the region, using false color to better highlight the floodwaters, show newly-formed lakes across swaths of the
Satellite images from September showed huge swaths of it carpeted in green as storms pushed further north than usual, a phenomenon some
studies have linked to human-caused climate change.More extreme rainfall events could be expected in the Sahara in the future, according to
recent research, as fossil fuel pollution continues to heat up the planet and disrupt the water cycle.Source: CNN--Agencies
