Chile’s Atacama Desert blooms after El Niño rains
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Heavy rains from the El Niño weather pattern transformed Chile’s Atacama Desert into a colorful garden. The unusual rainfall revitalized large areas of the typically barren landscape, causing seeds and bulbs that had lain dormant for years to sprout. The Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, now displays a remarkable bloom.
Under the desert’s surface, seeds and bulbs from around 200 plant species waited for suitable conditions to grow.
This year’s rains provided the necessary moisture, allowing flowers to cover extensive areas. Some regions received over 180 millimeters of rain, an amount César Pisarro, biodiversity head at Corporación Nacional Forestal de Chile, described as “never before recorded.” The increased water penetrated deep into the sand, creating favorable conditions for plant life in the protected area, located approximately 800 kilometers north of Santiago.
Corporación Nacional Forestal de Chile expects the flowering to peak in October, offering even more spectacular views of the desert.
