- Chile’s Chajnantor Plateau: The Sunniest Place on Earth.
- Extreme Solar Conditions: UV Radiation Comparable to Venus.
- Potential for Solar Energy: Researchers Suggest Chajnantor Plateau for Solar Plants.
Spain and Greece are popular vacation destinations for Britons who wish to escape the unpredictable and disappointing English summer.
However, it comes out that Chile is the best destination for sun-seekers.
Scientists have determined that a desert located near the Andes is the sunniest location on Earth.
They add that if you stood on the Chajnantor Plateau, you would receive the same amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation as on Venus.
The location in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, which is more than 15,700 feet (4,800 meters) above sea level, is the sunniest place on Earth, according to research conducted by the University of Santiago.
This means the plain receives very little precipitation; however, it is not an ideal location for sunbathing.
Summertime average temperatures are frequently just above 39.2°F (4°C), in part because the adjacent Pacific Ocean receives Antarctic water currents.
And your average Factor 20 sunscreen wouldn’t protect you from sunburn because, according to scientists, the conditions are so extraordinary they have never been seen anywhere else on Earth.
According to the Washington Post, radiation would be present on Venus in summer, according to research author Raul Cordero.
At this particular location, workers were aware that radiation levels were elevated, but now we know exactly how high.
In their study, scientists published a five-year dataset recorded at an observatory on the northwestern edge of the Chajnantor Plateau, at an elevation of 17,700 feet (5,418 meters) above sea level.
The plateau had the most horizontal shortwave radiation in the globe and other noteworthy features.
‘Forward scattering’ in nearby clouds creates powerful bursts of sunlight.
Oftentimes, clouds above other locations on Earth are ‘dense’ enough to prevent a significant amount of sunlight from reaching the ground, which is instead reflected into space.
However, ‘thin’ clouds on the Chajnantor Plateau allow the sun to show brightly on the ground.
Believe it or not, solar radiation can be worse during these periods of thinner clouds than during cloudless conditions.
In January and February, during the southern hemisphere’s summer, these thinner clouds are predominant, but they are also prevalent in other regions, such as the Himalayan Plateau.
Nevertheless, this mechanism enables the Chilean desert to experience “unparalleled” solar extremes, according to scientists.
The plateau may be ideal for solar power installations in the future.
