Sahara gets snow for the first time in 37 years

The 1984 Band Aid theme song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" composers Bob Geldof and Midge Ure got it wrong when they wrote "there won't be snow in Africa this Christmastime" because snow has fallen on the Sahara Desert for the first time in 37 years.

Ain Sefra, an Algerian town located deep in the Sahara Desert, received snowfall on Monday, Dec. 19. The last time that such phenomenon took place was in February 1979, when a half-hour snowstorm hit the area. On Monday, though, the snow stayed for more than a day before melting away. This gave residents just enough time to snap some photos of the beautiful landscapes that were created as a result of the snowfall.

Images shared on social media boast of red sand dunes coated with snow, a very rare scenery.

Amateur photographer Karim Bouchetata was one of the lucky ones who managed to take pictures of the Saharan desert covered with snow.

"Everyone was stunned to see snow falling in the desert; it is such a rare occurrence," Bouchetata said, The Telegraph reported. "It looked amazing as the snow settled on the sand and made a great set of photos. The snow stayed for about a day and has now melted away," he added.

The Sahara Desert is one of the hottest and driest regions in the world, and in the past, temperatures in the area reached 47 °C (117 °F). Surrounded by the Atlas Mountains, Ain Sefra is situated 1,078 meters above sea level. According to LiveScience, snow landing on sand dunes is more likely to occur on Saharan mountain ranges.

Other areas in Africa that get some snow include Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and the Algerian ski resorts of Chrea and Tikjda.

In November, some parts of Israel, Syria, and the middle east also saw some snow.