These Before-After Satellite Images Prove That Climate Change Is More Real Than We Thought

4th Oct 2024
These Before-After Satellite Images Prove That Climate Change Is More Real Than We Thought

We all have a rough idea of how climate change affects the world around us. However, it seems we still don’t fully grasp the scale of what is happening. Even with ongoing forums, campaigns, and studies, we still find it difficult to fully wrap our heads around the changes in temperature, rising sea levels, the effects on animals and plants, and the evaluation of greenhouse gases driving global warming.

This is where satellite images become helpful. These visuals, offering a bird’ s-eye view of the planet, present irrefutable proof of the real-time effects of climate change.

What Do The Satellites See?

Satellites are crucial for tracking climate change, as they give us real-time information about what’s happening all over the planet. By taking pictures and collecting data over many years, satellites help scientists see patterns they can’t notice from the ground and nature changes in comparison.

The main Earth-observation satellites for today are:

  • Copernicus Sentinel Satellites (ESA): they are monitoring land, oceans, and atmosphere;
  • Landsat satellites (NASA/USGS): providing continuous data on land use, deforestation, and urbanization;
  • Terra and Aqua (part of NASA’s Earth Observing System): Terra focuses on land, oceans, and atmosphere, and Aqua specializes in the water cycle;
  • ICESat-2 (NASA): measuring changes in ice sheet height, sea ice thickness, forest canopy height, etc.

Let’s discover which exact changes these satellites reveal.

Climate Change and the Aral Sea

These images show the dramatic decline in the Aral Sea between 2000 and 2014, as captured by NASA’s satellites. Once one of the world’s largest lakes, the Aral Sea has nearly dried up due to over-irrigation and rapid climate change.

Aral Sea
Credit: NASA/Sipa USA

Abnormal Heat Affecting Agricultural Lands

As shown in these satellite images, 2017 VS 2018, abnormal heatwaves significantly impacted agricultural lands. Drought conditions caused by rising temperatures led to widespread damage, reducing crop yields and threatening food security.

heat affecting lands
Credit: ESA/Copernicus Sentinel data

Drying Up Of Lake Urmia

Once the largest lake in the Middle East, Lake Urmia in Iran has been shrinking for decades due to overuse and global warming. These satellite images from 1998 and 2016 show a significant reduction in its size.

Drying Up Of The Lake
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Science Photo Library

Glacier Melt

From 2013 to 2018, NASA’s satellite images captured an Arctic glacier advancing into the Kara Sea at an alarming rate of about 5 km per year.

Melting Of Glacier
Credit: Lauren Dauphin & Joshua Stevens/NASA

Surprising Greenery In The Driest Desert Of China

The Taklamakan, China’s hottest, driest, and largest desert, shows signs of life during spring. Satellite images from February 2020 and April 2020 reveal how temperature changes on the planet can briefly green this harsh landscape.

greenery in the desert
Credit: Lauren Dauphin/NASA Earth Observatory

Chilean Lake Completely Dried Up

Chile’s Lake Aculeo, once a vibrant water source, completely dried up between 2014 and 2019 due to a decade-long drought and rising water demand from a growing population.

Chile's Lake Completely Dried Up
Credit: Lauren Dauphin/NASA Earth Observatory

Erosion Of A Coastal Line Because Of Climate Change

Texas faces the loss of one of its beaches as the shoreline retreats by an alarming 15 meters each year. These satellite images from 1987 and 2015 illustrate the ongoing erosion threatening coastal areas.

Erosion of coastal line
Credit: Lauren Dauphin/NASA Earth Observatory

Harris Bay Glacier’s Ice Loss

These images, comparing the glacier from 1920-1940 to 2005, show the dramatic ice loss of the Harris Bay Glacier in Alaska. It has retreated by 10 kilometres over 60-80 years and is now completely out of sight.

Harris Bay Glacier's Ice Loss
Credit: climate.nasa.gov

The Great Salt Lake Dried Up

In 1985, melting snow and rainfall sustained the Great Salt Lake. By 2010, the region faced severe drought, reducing the lake’s size, as seen in these satellite images.

The Great Saly Lake Dried Up
Credit: climate.nasa.gov

Extreme Rainfall Events Because Of Climate Change

Heavy rains in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley have caused two major lakes to merge, as shown in these satellite images from 2013 and 2020. The extreme rainfall shows the growing impact of global climate change on regional ecosystems.

Extreme Rainfall Events
Credit: Lauren Dauphin/NASA Earth Observatory

These satellite images are a stark reminder of the ongoing impacts of climate change on our planet. From shrinking lakes and glaciers to extreme weather events and disappearing coastlines, the changes captured from space reveal the full scope of the issue. Understanding climate change is the first step to protecting the future of Earth and all the life it supports.

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