The Atacama Desert in Chile, also dubbed the “driest place on Earth,” has turned into a beautiful place full of pink flowers due to a record-breaking amount of rainfall in the past year, ABC News revealed.
In March and August 2015, uncommon heavy rainstorms resulted to floods and mudslides, with 28 reported deaths and thousands rendered homeless in Chile, EFE reported.
“The Atacama region was punished, but also blessed by the phenomenon of a flourishing desert, something that happens only after the rains, this time brought about by El Niño and climate change,” National Tourism Service director in Atacama, Daniel Diaz, told EFE.
Diaz added that the intensity of the floral blooms at present has no precedent. It also happened twice in the same year, which is a first in the history of the country. It is a unique experience that surprised everyone and they would like to grab the opportunity to document the dynamics of the ecosystem, to determine how flowers live. They plan to catalog their findings for future reference, tour guide Rodrigo Arcos said.
Washington Post reported that the Atacama Desert holds the world record for the longest dry streak, without a drop of rain falling for 173 straight months in the early 20th century. In the city of Antofagasta, which neighbors the Atacama at the south of Arica, the average rainfall per year is only 0.07 inches. When El Niño came, heavy thunderstorms delivered 0.96 inches of rain in a single day to various parts of the Atacama Desert, which is equivalent to 14 years of rain. The torrent caused the Copiapo River to swell beyond its banks and flooded the surrounding areas.
The mallow or malva flowers found on the floor of the Chilean desert bloom once every five to seven years, but due to the unusually rainy weather, the blossoming phenomenon was deemed the most spectacular in the past 18 years. Washington Post also revealed that Death Valley has also been overflowing in October 2015, with 0.55 inches of rain falling on the hottest place in the world.
Several photos of the beautiful desert have been shared online, with people from nearby areas visiting to enjoy the flowers. About 20,000 tourists are set to travel to the Atacama Desert to witness the rare blooms. The flowers will most likely stay in their rich pink hue until November 2015. More updates and details on the rare occurrence are expected in the coming weeks.
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