The world’s driest desert has been blanketed in snow.
The desert plateau hasn’t seen snowfall for over 10 years.
Experts could not rule out whether climate change had played a role in the rare weather event.
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The world’s driest spot woke up to the sight of snow last Thursday (26 Jun).
Vast stretches of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile were covered.
Despite being a desert and the driest on the planet, temperatures there range from 0C (32F) to 30C (86F).
Images of the phenomenon were shared on social media by the ALMA Observatory.
One video showed a snowy landscape next to the Andes Mountains.
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Scientists pointed out that snowfall is more common on the higher Chajnantor Plateau, where the main telescope is located at an altitude of around 16,400 feet.
But this was the first time in a decade that snow had fallen on the primary location at 9,514 feet.
Snow fell on the Operations Support Centre (OSF), base camp, and other facilities.
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A spokesperson said: “It is common at 5,000 metres above sea level where the antennas are located, but it is not common below 2,900 metres or in the vicinity of ALMA, which faces the Salar de Atacama salt pan.”
Climatologist Raúl Cordero said it’s too early to say for certain whether the rare weather event is the result of climate change.
He added: “But climate models suggest this kind of event, i.e. precipitation in the Atacama Desert, will increase over time.”
ALMA is considered one of the most advanced in the world, as reported by What’s The Jam.
The observatory is an international partnership between Europe, the US, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Chile.
It cost around £1 billion ($1.4 billion) and is the most expensive ground-based telescope in operation.
In some areas of the desert, which stretches over 994 miles along Chile’s Pacific coast, the average annual rainfall is just 1 to 3 millimetres.
Several weather stations have never recorded any rain at all.
Historical data indicate the region may not have seen any significant rainfall between 1570 and 1971.
Scientists believe Atacama may be the oldest desert on the planet.
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