Unusual flooding in the Sahara desert for the first time in 5 decades

Heavy rains have transformed the desert landscape and brought vital water to the region after decades of drought, but they also portend more extreme weather events to come.

Parts of the Sahara Desert have been flooded after rare torrential rains swept across southeastern Morocco. Two days of torrential rains hit areas including Tata City and Tagounite, a village about 450 kilometers south of the capital Rabat. Tagounite alone recorded up to 100 mm of rain in just 24 hours, far exceeding the annual average for many areas.

The heavy rains come as Morocco is grappling with its worst drought in nearly four decades. While the floods have killed 18 people and caused widespread destruction, they have offered hope to local farmers in the south, where crops such as dates, almonds and cereals have struggled through six straight years of drought. But water consultant Mohamed Jalil said the impact of the rains may not be long-lasting. He said that while the floods have begun to replenish groundwater reserves and offer hope to farmers, it is uncertain how much help they will provide to Morocco’s long-term drought.

Meanwhile, meteorologists say the rains were caused by an extratropical storm, an unusual event for the region that could lead to more extreme weather in the future. Experts warn that climate change could make such storms more frequent, leaving the region vulnerable not only to prolonged drought but also to sudden heavy rainfall.