Google has recently updated its Google Earth Engine to include clearer images for its time lapse feature. They’ve added petabytes of new data and four more years of imagery, which has improved the quality and clarity of their time lapses. In recent years they’ve started using high quality images from NASA’s Landsat 8 satellite, which is part of their secret to success.
 
Now anyone can visit the Google Earth Time Lapse website to see changes around the globe from 1984 to 2016. The new and improved time lapse feature lets you see how cities have developed, but also how the environment is being destroyed. We may not always notice the changes happening around us, which makes Google Earth’s Time Lapse feature an important tool for environmental awareness.