Tools / UAE heritage
The UAE from space: then and now
Drag the line and see the same place from space in 1985, 1990 or 2000 against this week: the Palm before it existed, Dubai Marina as desert, Reem, Yas and Saadiyat as sand and sea, Al Ain growing around the oasis. Landsat and Sentinel imagery from NASA and ESA, for anywhere in the country.
Imagery: NASA GIBS — Landsat (USGS) · Sentinel-2 (Copernicus) via HLS
How to use it
- Pick a ready place or move the map to yours (your home, your old school, the neighbourhood).
- Pick the «then» year: 1985, 1990 or 2000.
- Drag the line left and right, and zoom in up to level 12.
Questions
Where do the images come from?
«Then» is Landsat (NASA/USGS) at 30 m, composited yearly. «Now» is Sentinel-2 (Europe's Copernicus) at 30 m via NASA, for the last two weeks — white patches are clouds, empty ones haven't been passed over yet.
Why no 2010?
NASA's yearly archive in this form covers 1985, 1990 and 2000 only. Dates within the last ten years come in the next version.
Resolution?
30 metres per pixel: you see major roads, islands and districts, not houses. Enough to watch the islands and cities being built.
Does it need internet?
Yes, the imagery comes straight from NASA's servers to your browser.
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