Photograph by Mario Ruiz
Last year, Chile’s Atacama Desert—the driest non-polar area in the world—received record rainfalls thank to El Niño. According to the Washington Post, heavy thunderstorms last March brought 0.96 inches of rain in a single day. While that may not sound like much, for the Atacama, it was the equivalent to 14 years of rainfall in a single day!
Additional rains in August led to an incredible bloom of pink-tone mallow flowers (also known as malva) in October (which is Spring in Chile), covering the desert floor. The rare phenomenon only occurs once every 5-7 years and 2015 was reportedly the most impressive bloom in nearly two decades.
You can see many more photos of the amazing event on the Washington Post.
