Snow falls on Sahara; Arctic ice tethers near melting point

The sandy dunes near an Algerian town in the Sahara Desert has seen snow for the first time in 37 years, in what has been described has an extraordinarily rare sight in the largest hot desert on Earth.

UK newspaper The Independent reported last night that snow fell on the town of Ain Sefra on Dec 19, and then lingered for a day before melting away.

The scene was captured from space by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (Nasa) Landsat 7 satellite, according to The Washington Post, as well as on the ground by photographer Karim Bouchetata, according to The Independent.