New East Digital Archive

Orange snow transforms snowscapes into alien worlds across the New East

Orange snow transforms snowscapes into alien worlds across the New East
Image: Margarita Alshina/Instagram

26 March 2018

Mountais across the New East have been transformed into alien landscapes by a freak blanket of orange snow falling across the region.

A post shared by Alina Smurygina (@sinyaya_ptiza) on

The meteorological phenomenon was triggered by storms in northern Africa, which blew sand from the Sahara across the Mediterranean. Once in Europe, the sand particles mixed with snow and rain, giving the snow a distinctive orange tint.

As the skies darkened over Friday and Saturday, residents in Russia, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Moldova took to social media to document the brass-tinged snowscapes.