El Niño Causes World’s Driest Desert To Bloom With New Life

Chile’s Atacama Desert is experiencing a literal flourish of new life as heavy rainfall in the region as created a beautiful, colorful landscape in the South American nation.

Vibrant flower blooms currently blanket the region after heavy rainfall and flooding from El Niño provided water for flower seeds that have laid dormant for years.

“Rainfall is extremely hard to come by in northern Chile,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski.

The Atacama Desert is considered one of the driest places on Earth, barely receiving any rainfall throughout the year, making it near impossible for any vegetation to grow.

These flower blossoms occur only once every five to ten years.

If you want to see it in person, you better hurry. The blooms are expected to last only until early November before the plants dry and the area returns to its normally barren desert floor.

If you can’t see it in person, check out more of the beautiful images below.

https://twitter.com/pattysire/status/655728887821946880

Por que #santiagonoeschile les dejo una imagen del espectáculo en que se convirtió nuestro #DesiertoFlorido pic.twitter.com/dPbFXCg8Hj

— Dani Cornejo (@Dani_Cornejo) October 2, 2015

Yo hoy estoy desde el #DesiertoFlorido en el norte de Chile #ViajaChat pic.twitter.com/9ZRYdcCXXo

— Gloria Apara (@NomadicChica) October 11, 2015