Northern Chile’s Atacama Desert, long known as the driest place on Earth, awoke to an astonishing sight Thursday morning—a cover of snow spread across its normally sun-baked terrain. The rare weather event turned vast stretches of the desert into a white canvas, captivating both residents and scientists.
The snowfall, which blanketed parts of the desert plateau, was shared by the ALMA observatory on social media.
Located high in the Andes Mountains, the facility posted a video showing the snowy landscape and noted that while snowfall often hits the higher Chajnantor Plateau—where its main telescope is situated—this was the first time in a decade snow had reached its primary location at 9,514 feet (2,900 meters).
Rare snowfall reaches the ALMA observatory
The observatory is one of the most advanced in the world. It operates through a partnership between institutions in Europe, the United States, and Japan and was built to take advantage of the Atacama’s famously clear skies.
However, the recent snowfall provided a striking contrast to the usual dry conditions that make the site ideal for astronomical research. Climatologist Raul Cordero of the University of Santiago told AFP that it was too early to link the snowfall directly to climate change.
The world's driest desert, the Atacama Desert, was covered in snow, and the phenomenon was captured on video
This is the first time such a snow phenomenon has been observed in the desert in the last decade pic.twitter.com/s0Fvr7xdjQ— Lev (@Lev1446491) June 27, 2025
He added that climate models suggest these types of precipitation events in the Atacama region could become more common in the years ahead.
A desert defined by absence of rain
The Atacama’s extreme dryness is well-documented. In some areas, annual rainfall averages just 1 to 3 millimeters, and several weather stations in the region have never recorded any rain. In the central zone—between Antofagasta, Calama, and Copiapó—there have been stretches lasting years without any measurable precipitation. Historical data indicate that from 1570 to 1971, the region may not have seen significant rainfall at all.
The desert, which stretches over more than 994 miles (1,600 km) along Chile’s Pacific coast and covers over 38,610 square miles (100,000 sq km), owes its arid climate to a combination of natural factors.
The Humboldt Current brings cold ocean water up the coast, while high-pressure systems in the Pacific suppress cloud formation. Flanked by the Andes and the Chilean Coast Range, the desert is locked in a two-sided rain shadow that blocks moisture from both directions.
Scientists believe the Atacama may be the oldest desert on Earth. It has experienced dry conditions for millions of years, possibly as far back as 200 million years ago, according to evidence from mineral deposits. Its Mars-like landscape has even been used to test equipment for space missions.
Though snow covers the Atacama only on rare occasions, the event serves as a vivid reminder that even the most stable environments can sometimes surprise us.
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