The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States has adopted an exemplary approach to gauge a country’s economic development. Since 1992, a Defense Meteorological System satellite has been capturing nighttime images across the globe. However, NOAA’s servers hold only one image per day for research purposes. In 2014, a new satellite replaced the obsolete one, equipped with the capability to capture both visible and infrared wavelengths. This technological upgrade has provided a more comprehensive view, revealing significant differences in the captured images post-2014.
The intensity of nighttime illumination is often considered a proxy for a country’s level of economic development. An animation depicting these images since 1992 showcases our continuous progress over the years, with a notable acceleration in improvement observed since 2008. Interestingly, a sudden decrease in radiance emitted from our country was observed in 2020, likely reflecting the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this trend began to normalize from 2022 onwards, aligning with the gradual recovery of the economy.
Notably, specific regions such as Kolkata and Dhaka are distinguishable in the animation. Kolkata appears in the bottom left, emitting a higher intensity of light compared to Dhaka. This disparity underscores the differing levels of economic activity between the two cities, as evidenced by their respective levels of nighttime illumination.
The complete code is available on GitHub for further exploration and analysis.
Code: https://github.com/tasnim966937/Night-Light.git
