From land cover to population density, there are many ways to explore and analyze humanity’s footprint on Earth. Each approach produces a slightly different picture of developed areas. One technique that has captivated people for decades involves mapping Earth’s nighttime lights. It’s both elegant and intuitive. You can see where people are clustered without relying on standard boundaries and other context we normally see on maps.
This video from NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio maps nighttime lights from 2012 to 2023. Using data from NASA’s Black Marble, it highlights change in developed areas around the globe.
The video begins by showing the annual average for night lights for each year from 2012 to 2023. Developed areas glow in bright yellow, showing cities and settlements. As the video plays, you can see increasing brightness in South Asia and East Asia, including India and China. But it’s challenging to compare 2012 to 2023 this way.
The video then shows a single snapshot of the change in night lights between 2012 and 2023. Areas that gained nighttime lights over the decade are shown in purple. Places that saw a reduction in lights are mapped in orange. You can immediately see an increase in lights throughout much of Asia and the Middle East. North America and South America are more mixed, while Europe generally saw a decline in nighttime lights. Some of these reductions are the result of upgrades in lighting efficiency and dark sky preservation. Other areas where nighttime lights have decreased are a consequence of conflict.
While the maps do not tell us why lights may increase or decrease, a closer look and additional context paints a clearer picture. Inset maps for India and Ukraine then replay both views of nighttime lights in greater detail. In India, you can see steady growth as a result of new infrastructure. In 2012, just 79.9 % of India’s population had access to electricity. By 2021, that figure had risen to 99.6%.
In Ukraine, lights are steady until 2022, when the war with Russia begins. Wide swaths of Ukraine go dark and stay dark as the country’s utility infrastructure is targeted. Some of this may also be a result of intentional blackouts like those used by Britain during WWII. In an otherwise mesmerizing visual, it’s yet another example of how maps can capture the echoes of conflict.
More to Explore
- Take a deep dive into changes in nighttime lights in Ukraine.
- Browse more maps about Earth at night.
