In a rare spectacle, vast stretches of Chile’s Atacama Desert, renowned as the driest place on Earth, have burst into hues of purple and white following unusual patterns of rainfall in the northern region.
Typically, such a phenomenon, known as a desert bloom, occurs sporadically during the southern spring, under precise conditions, covering expansive areas spanning thousands of square kilometers.
However, this year, an unexpected twist has emerged with the desert flowering in the midst of winter, a phenomenon not witnessed since 2015, according to experts.
Cesar Pizarro, who oversees biodiversity conservation at the National Forestry Corporation, explained to AFP that April’s rainfall, measuring between 11 to 12 millimeters (nearly half an inch), combined with persistent low cloud cover, has saturated the desert surfaces nightly, thereby stimulating plant growth.
Unlike the renowned springtime bloom that blankets over 15,000 square kilometers (5,800 square miles), this winter flowering phenomenon spans a more modest few hundred square kilometers.
During peak bloom periods, the desert hosts over 200 different plant species. Recent weather conditions have predominantly favored the “pata de guanaco,” a resilient purple flower adapted to arid sandy environments with minimal water requirements.
Regarding the cause of this unusual winter bloom, Pizarro commented that scientists have yet to ascertain whether it directly correlates with climate change or cyclical weather phenomena such as El Niño or La Niña, similar to observations made during the winter of 2015.
