Bright night

Source: Modified VIIRS nighttime lights data / Google Earth Engine

This is an annual nighttime lights image over a large part of Europe. This image shows the yearly maximum light radiation for the year 2022. Sunlit, moonlit and cloudy pixels are removed. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instruments aboard the joint NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) and NOAA-20 satellites provide global daily measurements of nocturnal visible and near-infrared (VIS and NIR) light that are suitable for Earth system science and application studies. VIIRS Day/Night Band (DNB) data are used for estimating population, assessing electrification of remote areas, monitoring disasters and conflicts, as well as understanding biological impacts of increased light pollution. The diagonal lines reflect the swaths in which VIIRS captures its images.

Can you spot Lake Zürich? Which other regions and cities can you find?