Rare flowers sprout in the desert but tourists trample them for a few likes

An incredible spectacle. A blanket of white and purple flowers that sprouts in one of the driest places in the world, the Atacama Desert, in Chile. The rare phenomenon is the result of the abundant rains brought by El Niño, followed by a peak in high temperatures, which recreated the ideal conditions for the seeds to bloom. The flowers, which usually appear every two years, during the short spring, this time instead sprouted despite the middle of winter.

The Flower Show in the Atacama Desert

“The 11-12 millimeters of rain that fell in April,” César Pizarro, head of biodiversity conservation at the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf), told AFP, “along with low cloud cover that was very intense in the area and that wets the surface every night, have favored the awakening of these plants.” According to the expert, this event has nothing to do with the so-called “desert in bloom,” a phenomenon that usually occurs in spring. In that case, the flowering extends over 15,000 square kilometers, while now the flowers have appeared in an area of ​​about 400 square kilometers. The flowers that grow in the Atacama Desert are called “guanaco paw” or “doquilla” and are able to grow in sandy soil with little water.

VIDEO: The Atacama Desert, the driest desert on the planet, is dressed in purple and white flowers over an area of ​​several kilometers, thanks to unusual rainfall recorded in this area of ​​northern Chile. pic.twitter.com/jtFFXocNvJ

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 12, 2024

Tourist Tramples On Flowers: Video Sparks Outrage

However, the spectacular event that occurred in the Chilean desert attracted tourists and curious people, eager to photograph this unusual flowering. Among the photos and videos published on social media, a video posted by several Argentine media went viral, in which a young woman films herself while trampling the flowers that had just emerged from the arid ground. The images immediately sparked indignation among social media users, both Chilean and otherwise. The young woman, reprimanded for her behavior, responded arrogantly, ignoring the enormous damage she was doing just to collect a few likes on social media. Yet another irresponsible behavior to the detriment of a very fragile ecosystem, which prompted local authorities to invite the population to respect the flowers in the desert, using authorized passages and avoiding damaging the environment. In fact, compromising the desert flora, in addition to damaging a breathtaking spectacle, can also have serious consequences on biodiversity.