Google Earth’s Timelapse Video Shows How Some Forests in The World Have Transformed in 36 Years

In dire times where global warming and climate change rule the planet, deforestation has become a key cause of this situation. In a feat to explain the drastic human-caused changes in the green cover of the planet, Google Earth (@googleearth) shared a thought-provoking global time-lapse video on YouTube. It depicts how large areas of forests have been cleared for human consumption since 1984 and compared with the current scenario in 2020. The intriguing video was documented from a satellite’s point of view and compiled footage for 36 years. 

“Nearly half of the world’s forests have already been cleared or degraded for human use,” the video claimed. Forests reportedly absorb about one-third of the carbon dioxide released by the burning of fossil fuels each year. Firstly, the time-lapse video shared glimpses from the forested regions in Nuflo De Chavez in Bolivia. The lush green cover witnessed concerning changes as the years passed by since 1984. It was observed that the green landmass converted into an agricultural region with huge areas of forests cleared out to grow farms of crops. Even the nearby locations appeared to have turned barren while the forest density toppled over time until the final year, in 2020. 

The video then took the viewers to the next destination across an ocean in the state of Oregon, United States. This footage showcased lush green hilly regions of the location from 1986 before rapid urbanization took over. It is reported that the Midwestern and Western United States became an urban majority in the 1910s while the Southern did not witness urbanization until World War II in the 1950s, per a report by the U.S. Census Bureau. Areas qualifying as urban need to fulfill criteria of at least 2,000 housing units and a minimum population of 5,000, as of the 2020 Census. Interestingly, the onset of the 2000s captured an even faster growth in urban areas, also penetrating areas of the mountains. 

Next stop, Madagascar. The global time-lapse captured the changes in forests experienced in the Atsimo-Andrefana regions of the island nation located on the southeast coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. The video stated, “Every minute, an area of tropical tree cover the size of 40 football fields is lost.” While the region already seemed quite barren in 1984 with occasional specks of forested areas, the deforestation until 2020 painted a clear picture of the detriment caused to the total green cover. The forests in Sara, Bolivia suffered a similar fate, even worse, as the beautiful green cover was cleared for agricultural purposes. The final picture in 2020 showed an irregularly deforested area with barren patches of land here and there. 

Finally, forests in Mato Grosso, Brazil evolved into a densely urban region with little to no forest cover left and also expanding to nearby areas. The area observed almost 90% urbanization by 2020. It is anticipated that 60% of the Amazon rainforest, the largest green cover in the world, will disappear by 2050. The video urged people to be mindful of the harm caused to nature by the selfish demands of human beings. But there is still hope to salvage the world with an ambition to reverse the trend and tackle climate change for the better. 

You can follow @googleearth on YouTube for more interesting videos.