Satellite images circulating on social media show the southern Sahara before and after the monsoon season. The world's hottest desert now displays patches of greenery, where vegetation is flourishing, all due to changes in humidity.
The Sahara Turns Green: Heavy Rains Are the Cause
Southern Sahara is incredibly green this year due to the monsoon shift over Africa
- storm chaser Colin McCarthy wrote on platform X. He shared photos showing the changes that have affected the Sahara over the past year.
McCarthy also explained why such intense rainfall occurred over the Sahara.
The shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) northward brought torrential rains and extreme flooding to the region. Over 1,000 people have died from floods in Central and Western Africa, and millions have been displaced
- he added. Interestingly, according to the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center, as reported by newsweek.com, some areas of the Sahara have recorded 600% of their average rainfall in the last 30 days.
The Monsoon Also Affected Hurricanes in the Atlantic
The northward shift of the monsoon trough led to decreased hurricane activity in the Atlantic
- McCarthy explained. He noted that most hurricanes in the ocean originate off the west coast of Africa as tropical waves, but due to the northward monsoon shift, these waves have been cooler as they leave the continent, inhibiting cyclone development. So far in September, only seven storms have made it to the U.S. from the Atlantic Ocean.
