It snowed in one of the Arab world's hottest deserts ... and it's gone viral

After an intense winter storm hit parts of Algeria on Sunday, snow covered entire areas in the country, including the town of Ain Safra. 

The small Algerian city is located on the northern edge of the Sahara, which is known as one of the hottest deserts in the world. 

While this isn't the first time snow falls in the region, images capturing this year's storm in the desert is sending social media into a frenzy. 

"Snowfall in the desert... praise be to the creator."

2016 marked the Sahara desert's first snowfall in 37 years. 

At the time, Karim Bouchetata, a man who caught the scene on camera in the small Algerian town of Ain Safra, spoke to The Independent, saying: 

"Everyone was stunned to see snow falling in the desert. It is such a rare occurrence. It looked amazing as the snow settled on the sand and made a great set of photos."

The town, which lies in the Atlas Mountains on the northern edge of the desert, hadn't seen snow since 1979. 

Many are now attributing the weather phenomena seen in the past two years to climate change, which is deeply affecting countries all over the world, including many in the region. 

The past summer saw several countries across the region experience unprecedented heat waves.  

Forecasters have already recorded weather extremes during this year's winter season, with hail storms and even snowfall hitting several parts of Saudi Arabia. 

Research conducted in recent years has warned that climate change will have severe consequences in the region. 

A study released in 2016 found that hot weather extremes brought on by global climate change could make parts of the Middle East and North Africa uninhabitable by the end of the current century.