The Google logo is displayed outside the company’s offices in New York, USA, on June 4, 2019. REUTERS / Brendan McDermid / File Photo
Google Earth on Thursday added a timelapse feature to the popular platform, which gave an insight into how climate change, urbanization and deforestation have altered the planet over the past four decades.
Created with 24 million satellite images, along with 800 selected videos and interactive guides, the feature allows users to watch a lapse of time from anywhere on the planet, using NASA entries, Landsat’s Geological Survey of the United States and the Copernicus program of the European Union.
Climate change is causing more frequent and severe floods, droughts, storms and heat waves as average global temperatures reach new highs.
The Google Earth timelapse tool shows shoreline change, the expansive expansion of urban landscapes and farmland, as well as the simultaneous recession of glaciers, forests, and rivers.
A video shows the rapid transition from forests near Bolivia to villages and farms, one of the main causes of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest; while another shows the recession of the Columbia Glacier in Alaska at 20 miles due to global warming.
Scientists have warned that increased global greenhouse gas emissions could lead to extreme weather conditions and increased risks of natural disasters.
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