Anyone who knows anything about deserts is aware of the Atacama Desert on the west coast of Chile by the Pacific Ocean, which has been dubbed the ‘driest place on Earth’ for a reason; that being that it’s typically an arid location that lacks the rainfall that normal locations around the world typically see.
Just to give you an idea of how dry the place typically is, the desert reportedly went 14 years without a single drop of rain in the 20th century.
Interestingly, however, the Atacama Desert has seen record rainfall this year that it hasn’t even come close to in almost two decades. As a result, it has spurred one of the largest growths in recorded history of pink malva flowers all across the desert plains, giving the desert a beautiful new look.
“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,” said Daniel Diaz, director of the National Tourism Service in Atacama.
“The intensity of blooms this year has no precedent, and the fact that it has happened twice in a same year has never been recorded in the country's history. We are surprised.”
The flowers have appeared in the desert before – five years ago to be exact – but they did not bloom in such big numbers then as they have this year. The record rainfall has played a huge role in the sheer number of the flowers that have popped up this time around, which is giving the desert a lot of attention.
Because of the location, these beautiful blooming flowers will not be around for long. Soon, the local weather will go back to its norm, and the flowers will all fade away, turning the desert back into the dry and desolate land that it usually is.
Source: The Guardian
