Daily Mail

SNOW-ASIS!

It settles in Sahara for only 2nd time in 40 years... and in UK, an ice spectacula­r

- By Jim Norton

THESE pictures show the dramatic effects of plunging temperatur­es in two very different places.

In one, the normally sweltering sands of the Sahara desert lie beneath a blanket of snow for only the second time in nearly four decades.

Meanwhile in Scotland, otherworld­ly ice sculptures take shape as water freezes after being splashed up by cars driving through a puddle.

High pressure over Europe pushed cold air down over Africa on Sunday, leading to a freak winter storm that dumped 16in of snow around the desert town of Ain Sefra, Algeria.

Snow also fell in the town last January, but before that, it was last seen Ice wonder: Water splashed from a puddle freezes in shapes near Biggar there was in February 1979. Temperatur­es in Scotland, where temperatur­es the region – between the Atlas recently fell to -12C (10F), took shape mountains and the northern Sahara – on a road near Biggar, South Lanarkshir­e, are usually around 6C (43F) to 12C (54F) as water from the puddle was at this time of year. The icy spectacle splashed on to a fence and bushes.

 ??  ?? Frozen dunes: Snow covers the sands of the Sahara after a freak winter storm on the northern fringes of the desert Otherworld­ly: A passer-by takes a closer look
Frozen dunes: Snow covers the sands of the Sahara after a freak winter storm on the northern fringes of the desert Otherworld­ly: A passer-by takes a closer look

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