Santiago, Chile — Residents of northern Chile’s Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth, were stunned Thursday morning as their arid surroundings were coated in a rare and magical blanket of snow. The phenomenon turned the region’s normally parched, Mars-like landscape into an otherworldly scene more akin to the Alps than the Andes foothills.
The snowfall, which occurred at altitudes around 2,900 meters (9,500 feet), was captured and shared by the ALMA observatory—one of the most advanced astronomical facilities on the planet.
AWESOME! The Atacama Desert in Chile, the driest in the world, is SNOWY! 🤩😱🥶 pic.twitter.com/ltfMmUWqha
— ALMA Observatory📡 (@almaobs) June 26, 2025
While snowfall is not unheard of at higher elevations in the region—especially on the Chajnantor Plateau above 5,000 meters, where ALMA’s massive telescope is located—it had not occurred at the observatory’s main facility in a full decade.
In fact, the snowfall was so significant that it blanketed the Operations Support Center, base camp, and several other scientific facilities north of Santiago. The Atacama Desert delivered a stunning surprise to scientists and staff, who hadn’t recorded similar snowfall at this altitude in more than ten years. According to official reports, early morning temperatures dropped to -12°C, with the wind chill making it feel as cold as -28°C. Experts believe the rare event was triggered by a mix of isolated rainfall and unusually low temperatures—conditions that aligned just right to turn one of the planet’s driest places into a temporary frozen landscape.
Climatologist Raul Cordero from the University of Santiago told AFP that while it’s too early to link this specific event directly to climate change, regional climate models do suggest that precipitation events in the Atacama are likely to become more frequent in the future.
“Snow in the desert is unusual, but it’s not impossible, what’s significant is the growing number of these anomalies. It’s consistent with what models have been predicting.”
The Atacama Desert is prized by astronomers for its clear skies, extreme dryness, and minimal light pollution. It’s home to some of the most powerful telescopes in the world, including the ALMA telescope—a collaboration between the European Southern Observatory, the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory, and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.
The snowfall brought a moment of wonder to a region more often associated with sand, rock, and stars than snowflakes. Locals and scientists alike took the opportunity to capture the fleeting, surreal landscape, knowing the snow would vanish quickly under the desert sun.
Still, it was a breathtaking reminder of nature’s unpredictability—even in the most seemingly predictable places on Earth.
