'Driest Place On Earth, Chile's Atacama Desert Witnesses Rare Snowfall Leaving Residents Surprised

The Atacama desert in Chile is generally regarded as the 'driest place on earth.' Last week, however, to everyone's surprise, parts of the desert were under deep snow.

People in the town of San Pedro de Atacama, about 750 miles from the capital, Santiago, were amazed by the spectacle. Although it snows from time to time in the desert, snowfall this late in August is extremely rare, Reuters reported.

The #Atacama Desert has been experiencing unusual amount of snow. The cold front that came through the region dumped nearly 32 inches of snow on the desert -- more snow then the region has seen in the last half-century. Atacama #desert is known asone of the driest place on Earth pic.twitter.com/qmqJPnssxI

¡ª Amazing Paper (@JohanesZijlstra) August 27, 2021

Images from the area showed ice-covered vehicles and children playing in the area in 15 cm (5.9 in) of snow, a region with only a few millimetres of rain each year.

It is thought to be the heaviest snowfall in three decades and has raised fears that melting ice and rainfall could cause flooding.

Some roads had to be closed for traffic as unusual weather made its presence felt.

"This does not occur yearly. Maybe a relatively important snowfall like the one today can happen every two or three years. For this time of the year, late August, is something relatively unusual because this is usually seen in June and July, Daniel Diaz, an official of the Northern Regional Meteorological Centre, told Reuters.

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Locals and motorists seized the opportunity to play with the snow and build snowmen.

"This is wonderful. I'm 30 years old, and this is the first time I see snow," exclaimed a resident of El Salvador.