{"id":218634,"date":"2025-12-30T20:12:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T20:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/218634\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T20:12:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T20:12:11","slug":"looking-back-at-2025-in-satellite-images-world-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/218634\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking back at 2025 – in satellite images | World News"},"content":{"rendered":"

An earthquake, wildfires, war and a funeral are among the world events that satellite images have helped Sky News cover this year. <\/p>\n

Here we reflect on some of the most impactful pictures.<\/p>\n

January: California wildfires, Altadena<\/p>\n

From 7 to 31 January, fires blazed across parts of Los Angeles and San Diego, powered by strong winds and dry conditions on the ground.<\/p>\n

They killed at least 30 people and caused an estimated 440 indirect deaths as a result of the fires, according to a study published in the JAMA medical journal in August.<\/p>\n

\"Fires<\/p>\n

Image:
\n Fires blazed across parts of Los Angeles and San Diego. Pic: Vantor<\/p>\n

February: Attacks on a refugee camp in Sudan<\/p>\n

In February, Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters stormed the Zamzam refugee camp in North Darfur, setting fire to buildings and killing civilians.<\/p>\n

Satellite images from Vantor show how buildings and stalls were burned during the attack.<\/p>\n

Sudan’s deadly civil war raged on throughout the year.<\/p>\n

\"Satellite<\/p>\n

Image:
\n Satellite images show buildings and stalls burned during the attack on the Zamzam refugee camp in North Darfur, Sudan. Pic: Vantor<\/p>\n

March: An earthquake causes major destruction in Myanmar<\/p>\n

On 28 March, a deadly 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar, causing between 3,600 and 5,350 deaths, according to United Nations agency estimates.<\/p>\n

Buildings across the country collapsed, displacing an estimated 200,000 people.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n

\n Before and after: Myanmar earthquake. Pic: Vantor\n <\/p>\n

April: The funeral for Pope Francis<\/p>\n

Thousands of people gathered outside St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on 26 April to mourn Pope Francis.<\/p>\n

The Argentinian pontiff became known for a more progressive approach during his 12-year papacy. He died aged 88 on 21 April.<\/p>\n

\"Thousands<\/p>\n

Image:
\n Thousands of people gathered outside St Peter\u2019s Basilica in the Vatican on 26 April to mourn Pope Francis. Pic: Vantor and EUSI. <\/p>\n

May: GPS jamming on the Baltic coast<\/p>\n

In recent years, radio jamming and electronic interference have intensified. These activities introduce powerful artificial frequencies, which interfere with and can be identified by synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) imagery.<\/p>\n

SAR imagery is created by sending radio signals from space to the earth and measuring the signals that bounce back.<\/p>\n

This example shows the banding effect interference can produce, visible over the Russian enclave Kaliningrad, a growing source of claims by analysts of GPS interference.<\/p>\n

\"On<\/p>\n

Image:
\n On 1 May, SAR imagery shows frequency disruption over Kaliningrad and the Baltic coast. Pic: Copernicus<\/p>\n

June: Ukraine drones hit Russian airbases<\/p>\n

On 1 June, several Russian aircraft bombers suffered damage and destruction after a number of surprise Ukrainian drone attacks.<\/p>\n

High-resolution satellite imagery from 4 June shows visible damage and cleanup operations at Belaya and Olenya key airbases.<\/p>\n

\"High-resolution<\/p>\n

Image:
\n High-resolution satellite imagery from 4 June shows visible damage and cleanup operations at Belaya and Olenya airbases. Pic: Vantor<\/p>\n

July: Crowds overwhelm aid trucks in Gaza<\/p>\n

On 26 July in south Gaza, hundreds of Palestinians appeared to crowd around an aid convoy in scenes of overwhelm seen from space as people struggled to access food.<\/p>\n

A month later, famine was declared in Gaza City by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) – a globally recognised system for classifying the severity of food insecurity and malnutrition.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/p>\n

Image:
\n In south Gaza, hundreds of Palestinians appeared to crowd around an aid convoy, seen from space. Pic: Planet Labs<\/p>\n

August: ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ construction temporarily halted<\/p>\n

New construction at Donald Trump’s Florida immigration centre was temporarily halted by a US judge in August, citing environmental concerns.<\/p>\n

Detainees moved into the facility on an abandoned airport site 43 miles from Miami in July, after just eight days of construction.<\/p>\n

Experts suggested the site was flawed, facing flooding near electrics during a storm as the first detainees were scheduled to arrive.<\/p>\n

\"\u2018Alligator<\/p>\n

Image:
\n \u2018Alligator Alcatraz\u2019 construction temporarily halted. Pic: Copernicus<\/p>\n

September: Nepal government palace burns during ‘Gen Z’ protests<\/p>\n

On 9 September, Nepal’s federal parliament building in capital Kathmandu was set alight during youth-led protests.<\/p>\n

Dozens died during the unrest, prompted by a since-reversed government decision to block 26 social media platforms and widespread claims of corruption among the young generation.<\/p>\n

Damage to the palace grounds and buildings can be seen from satellite imagery comparing the start and end of the year.<\/p>\n

October: Hurricane Mellissa<\/p>\n

The category 5 hurricane – the worst natural disaster to make landfall in Jamaica since records began – devastated parts of the Caribbean on 28 October.<\/p>\n

The World Bank estimated the storm’s physical damage at $8.8bn (41% of Jamaica’s 2024 GDP), including major flooding, damaged buildings and blocked roads.<\/p>\n

One of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites\u202fcaptured Melissa’s eye a few hours before hitting Jamaica’s southern coast.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Image:
\n The eye of hurricane Melissa. Pic: Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery<\/p>\n

November: Advanced US warship arrives in the Caribbean Sea<\/p>\n

On 16 November, the US sent USS Gerald R Ford to the Caribbean in what the Trump administration said was a counter-drugs operation. It has been widely interpreted as a move to put pressure on Venezuelan\u202fPresident Nicol\u00e1s Maduro’s regime.<\/p>\n

The arrival of the ship marked the largest build-up of US firepower in the region in generations; it was seen on satellite imagery off the coast of Puerto Rico on 17 November.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/p>\n

Image:
\n In November, the US sent USS Gerald R Ford to the Caribbean in what the Trump administration said is a counter-drugs operation. Pic: Copernicus<\/p>\n

\"In<\/p>\n

Image:
\n In November, the US sent USS Gerald R Ford to the Caribbean in what the Trump administration said is a counter-drugs operation. Pic: Copernicus<\/p>\n

December: New York City festive lights<\/p>\n

Striking nighttime satellite imagery from Vantor’s WorldView Legion shows Manhattan’s festive glow on 4 December.<\/p>\n

\"Striking<\/p>\n

Image:
\n Striking nighttime satellite imagery from Vantor’s WorldView Legion shows Manhattan\u2019s festive glow on 4 December. Pic: Vantor<\/p>\n

One night before, on the evening of 3 December, the city lit its iconic Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza, which can be seen near St Patrick’s Cathedral.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The Data and Forensics<\/a> team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An earthquake, wildfires, war and a funeral are among the world events that satellite images have helped Sky…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":218635,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[61,60,82,247],"class_list":{"0":"post-218634","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-space"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}