Rare Snow Blankets Atacama Desert

Aug 27 ETDeveloping

Science Desk

In Short: Rare snow was observed in the Atacama Desert, usually one of the world's driest places, according to NASA satellite imagery.

Rare, Widespread Snow in the Atacama Desert (1280714 - wide tmo 20260819) — Photo: NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

This image, captured by the MODIS on NASA's Terra satellite on August 19, shows snow extending westward from the Andes, across the desert’s hyper-arid core, and close to the Pacific coast south of the Chilean port city of Antofagasta.

Meteorologist Garreaud noted that the totals reached a magnitude 'rarely seen in the otherwise extremely arid region,' highlighting the rarity of this event.

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This image, captured by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA's Terra satellite on August 19, shows snow extending westward from the Andes, across the desert’s hyper-arid core, and close…
Totals reached a magnitude “rarely seen in the otherwise extremely arid region,” Garreaud said.

Sources

NASA Science (.gov)link