Down To Earth's video: How Sahara Desert will receive a rare unexpected rainfall

Have you ever wondered how it would be if it rained in the Sahara desert? The driest place on Earth? A rare & unexpected rainfall event is about to unfold across the Sahara desert. According to a recent study from ‘Severe Weather Europe’, a large part of the Sahara will get well over 500% of ‘normal rainfall’ in the months of August and September, 2024. Such events are very rare, less than once per decade on average, but they often signal a potential shift in the Earth's weather system, suggesting an abnormal atmospheric condition. Sahara is called the driest place on Earth because it receives ‘little to no’ annual precipitation. It is the world’s largest and hottest desert, extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. (TOS: 9.2 million square kilometres). On the contrary, just South of the Sahara is a region that is dense with green forest cover. This tropical belt along the Earth’s equator receives ample amount of rainfall because of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) ___________________________________________________________________________ Down to Earth is Science and Environment fortnightly published by the Society for Environmental Communication, New Delhi. We publish news and analysis on issues that deal with sustainable development, which we scan through the eyes of science and environment.