In September 2024, an extratropical cyclone transformed the arid landscape of the Sahara, where several lakes appeared as a result of rainfall. In just a few days, a year’s worth of rain fell on Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.

One of the most prominent is Lake Sebkha el Melah in Algeria, which highlights a landscape reminiscent of a much greener and wetter past in this vast desert region, experts told Live Science.

Satellite images show a striking contrast between the dry lake bed on August 12 and its filling on September 29.

The lake covered 191 square kilometers with a depth of 2.2 meters, being approximately 33 percent full, Moshe Armon, a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem explained, who had analyzed the satellite images and data.

The images uncover not only the change in Sebkha el Melah, but also in other ephemeral lakes near Erg Chebbi in Morocco, providing evidence of how the overflowing rivers of the Atlas Mountains contributed to this phenomenon.

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