IFS officer shares stunning pictures of blooming flowers in Atacama desert

Desert bloom is a weather phenomenon in which flowers and vegetation grow in a desert after above-average rainfall.

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There are more than 200 types of wildflowers that grow in the Atacama Desert during the desert bloom.

Deserts are seen as vast expanses of empty landscapes with barely any vegetation. However, some weather phenomena can change a desert into a vibrant valley of flowers.

The Atacama desert in Chile, known as the driest place on Earth, turned into a wide valley of flowers after it received heavy rainfall.

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According to Nature, a British weekly scientific journal, this weather phenomenon is called ‘desierto florido’, which loosely translates to ‘flowering desert’. This phenomenon occurs once every five to seven years between the months of September and November. The seeds that are lying dormant on the desert floor get revived after the rainfall and germinate. There are more than 200 types of wildflowers that grow in the Atacama desert during the desert bloom.

On Sunday, Indian Forest Service officer Susanta Nanda shared pictures of the Atacama desert when it was in full bloom.

The Atacama Desert in Chile is known to be the driest place on Earth.
Average rainfall is 15mm/ year. Some weather stations have never received rainfall at all.

But when it receives higher rains, it blooms like a fairy land. pic.twitter.com/jOoj3jH2Eb

— Susanta Nanda IFS (@susantananda3) August 21, 2022

Marvel of nature.

— Tapan Kumar Satpthy (@TapanSatpthy) August 21, 2022

Wonderful

— venkatesh (@halsurvenka) August 22, 2022

So glorious. Nature is astounding.

— Lorna MacGillivray #ScottishRevolution (@Elemjay1) August 22, 2022

Now that’s mother nature. Beautiful

— Sai Sudhir CH (@SaiSudhirCH1) August 21, 2022

While sharing the pictures, Nanda wrote, “The Atacama Desert in Chile is known to be the driest place on Earth. Average rainfall is 15mm/ year. Some weather stations have never received rainfall at all. But when it receives higher rains, it blooms like a fairy land.”

Besides the desert bloom, another flower-related weather event that makes news is the famed cherry blossom season in Japan that occurs every year between late March and mid-April.