This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A display of flowers has bloomed across Chile's Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, after the El Niño climate phenomenon brought heavy rain to the region. Beneath the normally parched ground, millions of seeds and bulbs from around 200 species lie in wait for water.
Heavy rain associated with El Niño recently lashed northern Chile, prompting the plants to emerge. Now, violet flowers carpet vast stretches of the desert, and white buds peek out from the cracked ground. Dozens of tourists pull over to snap pictures of the scenery, which, with any luck, might even include a rainbow against a deep red sunset.
Seasonal rainfall of more than 180 millimeters (7 inches) in some areas "had never been recorded before," Cesar Pizarro, head of Atacama biodiversity for Chile's forestry body CONAF, told AFP. Rainfall seeped deeper than usual into the sand, giving new life to the nature reserve about 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of Santiago. The "flowering desert" phenomenon will peak in October, according to CONAF, which estimates that 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) will bloom.
The current El Niño is predicted to be the strongest since comparable records began four decades ago. The phenomenon raises surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean and causes global changes in winds and rainfall, as well as erratic weather conditions. The torrential rains that pounded Chile in July killed 13 people and destroyed or severely damaged around 4,000 homes.
While acknowledging those devastating effects, Pizarro also noted that nature can benefit from El Niño. "Although there is great concern… about the impacts it is causing in many places, it also generates life," he said. Atacama is witnessing "more than flowers," he added, explaining that insects, snails, birds, reptiles and mammals proliferate, too.
Bees pollinate the flowers, while beetles feast on their leftovers and fertilize the soil with their nitrogen-rich excrement ahead of the next rainfall. Pizarro hopes a massive influx of tourists won't cause too much damage to the natural haven. He stressed the importance of using established footpaths and leaving pets at home.
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