Chile’s Atacama Desert: How Marine Fog Sustains Life Where Rain Never Falls
In Chile’s hyperarid Atacama Desert, some weather stations have recorded zero rainfall for over a century. Despite this, a marine fog called camanchaca, driven by the cold Humboldt Current, provides essential moisture. This fog supports unique lichens, cacti, and human communities through traditional and modern fog-catcher nets, which have supplied drinking water and irrigation for decades.