Roughly 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, during the African Humid Period, the Sahara Desert was likely far wetter and greener.
Roughly 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, during the African Humid Period, the Sahara Desert was likely far wetter and greener. Geologic and archaeological evidence indicates that vegetation, wetlands, and perhaps even large lakes covered areas that are now oceans of sand.
In September 2024, hints of this more watery past emerged after an extratropical cyclone dropped a deluge of rainfall on parts of northern Africa. Runoff from the storm has partially filled several ephemeral desert lakes in normally dry areas.
The OLI-2 (Operational Land Imager-2) on Landsat 9 (right) captured this image of Sebkha el Melah, an ephemeral lake in Algeria, on September 29, 2024. The lake is situated along a ridge of the Ougarta Range and fed by the Oued Saoura, an ephemeral river (sometimes called a wadi) that enters from the southeast. The other image (left) shows the salt-encrusted lakebed on August 12, before the rain event. NASA satellites observed the lake beginning to fill in mid-September.
Read more at NASA Earth Observatory
Image: NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
