2024: A year in satellite images
The OSINT team at Sky News uses satellite images, video and publicly available data to verify and investigate breaking stories.
Whether helping inform out coverage of conflicts in the middle east, or showing the scale of damage caused by hurricanes and floods, satellite images have been an important resource throughout the year.
As 2024 comes to an end, we have compiled some of the most striking and informative examples seen this year.
January: Earthquake hits Japan’s Noto Peninsula
Pic: Maxar
On 1 January, a magnitude 4.9 earthquake affected the Noto Peninsula in Japan.
It killed more than 500 people, and cased substantial damage to buildings in the area.
February: First commercial mission to the moon lands
Pic: NASA
On 22 February, the first commercial mission to the moon landed.
Odysseus, a Nova-C lander owned by Intuitive Machines, was photographed by NASA on 24 February after its arrival to the moon’s southern polar region.
This was the first time that a private company has successfully sent a spacecraft to the moon.
March: Container ship hits Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore
Pic: Maxar
On 26 March, the container ship Dali hit Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse. This killed six maintenance workers.
The cost of replacing the bridge has been estimated to be close to $2bn.
April: Eclipse seen over Mexico and the Pacific Ocean
Pic: NASA
On 8 April, a total solar eclipse passed across North America. Caused by an alignment in the positions of the sun and moon, the phenomenon was visible in Mexico, the United States and Canada.
Its shadow was photographed by NASA as it passed over the Pacific Ocean and the eastern coast of Mexico.
May – Israeli strike targets Rafah camp
On 26 May, an Israeli airstrike targeted an area housing displaced people near the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip.
At least 45 people were killed in this strike, with many more injured. Images from the scene caused widespread international backlash. Israel said it was targeting senior Hamas commanders.
Investigations by Sky News and other outlets subsequently found that the munition used was an American-made GBU-39 bomb.
June: Volcanic eruption in Iceland
Pic: Planet Labs PBC
In mid-June, a volcano on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula erupted.
Coinciding with increased earthquake activity, the eruption resulted in a large lava flow visible from space.
July: The Olympic Games held in Paris
Pic: Maxar
In the summer, France hosted the Olympic Games in Paris. During the games several events were held close to the city’s famous landmarks.
This image, captured by Maxar, shows a temporary volleyball stadium in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
August: Wildfires approach the edge of Athens
Pic: Sentinel 2
In August, thousands of people were evacuated from the countryside surrounding Athens due to wildfires.
By the time the fires subsided, approximately 100,000 acres were burned.
September: Hurricane Helene makes landfall in the United States
Pic: NASA
On September 26, Hurricane Helene made landfall on the Florida Coast.
The storm left a trail of destruction across the southern United States, resulting in power cuts that in some cases lasted for days.
Satellite images taken at night by NASA show the storm passing over Florida and Georgia.
October: Flooding in Spain
Pic: Maxar
At the end of October, the Spanish city of Valencia and its surrounding areas experienced severe flash flooding.
This killed more than 200 people, and covered large areas with water, mud and debris.
Satellite imagery captured by Maxar on 31 October shows the scale of the flooding, with the south of the city being worst affected.
November: Mount Fuji without snow in November for the first time in 130 years
Source: Planet Labs PBC
Japan’s Mount Fuji made headlines this year, after its famous snow cap failed to materialise until 6 November.
Satellite imagery captured by Planet Labs shows the mountain without snow on 4 November for the first time in 130 years.
The appearance of snow on Mount Fuji occurred a month later than in 2023, when it was recorded on 5 October.
December: Russian military equipment gathered at airbase following fall of Assad
Pic: Maxar
In December, the Syrian civil war came to a sudden end as rebel groups captured all previously government-held territory within the space of a few weeks.
While the former dictator Bashar al Assad fled to Russia, Russian troops and equipment that helped prop up his regime were left in the country.
Following the fall of Assad’s regime, it appears Russia is in the process of withdrawing from Syria.
On 19 December, a satellite image captured by Maxar showed large amounts of Russian military equipment assembled for transport from its Syrian airbase.
The Data and Forensics 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.
Israel has said it will allow a “basic quantity of food” into the besieged enclave of Gaza to avoid a “starvation crisis” following a near three-month blockade.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the decision was “based on the operational need to enable the expansion of the military operation to defeat Hamas“.
Gaza, where local authorities say more than 53,000 people have died in Israel’s 19-month campaign, has been under a complete blockade on humanitarian aid since 2 March.
It comes as global food security experts warn of famine across the territory and after a UN-backed report from last Monday which warned one in five people in Gaza were facing starvation.
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Israel ramps up bombing in Gaza
The statement from the prime minister’s office said it would “allow a basic quantity of food to be brought in for the population in order to make certain that no starvation crisis develops in the Gaza Strip”.
“Such a crisis would endanger the continuation of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ to defeat Hamas,” it added.
“Israel will act to deny Hamas’s ability to take control of the distribution of humanitarian assistance in order to ensure that the assistance does not reach the Hamas terrorists.”
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Gaza is ‘a slaughterhouse’ says surgeon
It comes after a British surgeon working in Gaza said in a video to Sky News the enclave is now “a slaughterhouse” amid Israeli bombardment.
Israel has just ramped up its offensive in Gaza – where it’s been conducting a military campaign in retaliation for 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October 2023 – with Palestinian health officials reporting at least 130 people were killed overnight into Sunday.
Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed troops had begun “extensive ground operations throughout the northern and southern Gaza Strip”.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 464 people had died in Israeli military strikes in the week to Sunday.
Read more:
Gaza at mercy of what comes next
‘At least 93 killed’ in Israeli strikes on Gaza on Friday
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
In a statement on Sunday, IDF said its air force struck “over 670 Hamas terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip to disrupt enemy preparations and support ground operations” over the past week.
Israel has launched an escalation to increase pressure on Hamas, seize territory, displace Palestinians to the south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.
Pro-Western candidate Nicusor Dan has unexpectedly beaten hard-right populist George Simion in the Romanian presidential election.
Mr Simion, 38, and his rival – a centrist who’s mayor of Bucharest – faced off in the second round of the contest.
According to the official tally, Mr Dan was leading by nearly nine percentage points with more than 98% of the votes counted.
Pic: Reuters
Mr Dan and his supporters celebrated the exit polls. Pic: Reuters
After exit polls suggested he wasn’t going to win, Trump-supporting Mr Simion rejected the result and said estimates put him 400,000 votes ahead.
Speaking after voting ended, Mr Simion said his election was “clear” as he posted on Facebook: “I won!!! I am the new President of Romania and I am giving back the power to the Romanians!”
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George Simion on Trump, the EU – and his message to UK
Romania’s last election was annulled after its highest court ruled the leading candidate, nationalist Calin Georgescu, should be disqualified due to claims of electoral interference by Russia.
The result is surprising because in the first round, 38-year-old Mr Simion, founder of the right-wing Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), took 40.96% of the vote – almost 20 points ahead.
George Simion rejected the polls but official counting saw him slip behind. Pic: Reuters
Supporters of Mr Dan celebrated on the streets of the capital Bucharest. Pic: AP
An opinion poll on Friday had it much closer, but still suggested the two men were virtually tied.
Mr Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician, is running as an independent and has pledged to clamp down on corruption.
He is also staunchly pro-EU and NATO, and has said Romania’s support for Ukraine is vital for its own security.
When voting closed at 9pm local time, 11.6 million people – about 64% of eligible voters – had cast ballots. About 1.64 million Romanians living abroad also took part.
About 11.6 million people – 64% of eligible voters – cast ballots. Pic: AP
Read more from Sky News:
British surgeon working in Gaza says it is now ‘a slaughterhouse’
Navy ship crashes into Brooklyn Bridge – two dead and others injured
The election is being closely watched across Europe amid a rise of support for President Donald Trump.
After polls closed, Mr Dan said “elections are not about politicians” but about communities and that in the latest vote “a community of Romanians has won, a community that wants a profound change in Romania”.
“When Romania goes through difficult times, let us remember the strength of this Romanian society,” he said.
“There is also a community that lost today’s elections. A community that is rightly outraged by the way politics has been conducted in Romania up to now.”
Israel has said it will allow a “basic quantity of food” into the besieged enclave of Gaza to avoid a “starvation crisis” following a near three-month blockade.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the decision was “based on the operational need to enable the expansion of the military operation to defeat Hamas”.
Gaza, where local authorities say more than 53,000 people have died in Israel’s 19-month campaign, has been under a complete blockade on humanitarian aid since 2 March.
It comes as global food security experts warn of famine across the territory and after a UN-backed report issued last Monday which warned one in five people in Gaza were facing starvation.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Israel ramps up bombing in Gaza
The statement from the prime minister’s office said it would “allow a basic quantity of food to be brought in for the population in order to make certain that no starvation crisis develops in the Gaza Strip”.
“Such a crisis would endanger the continuation of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ to defeat Hamas,” it added.
“Israel will act to deny Hamas’s ability to take control of the distribution of humanitarian assistance in order to ensure that the assistance does not reach the Hamas terrorists.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Gaza is ‘a slaughterhouse’ says surgeon
It comes after a British surgeon working in Gaza said in a video to Sky News the enclave is now “a slaughterhouse” amid Israeli bombardment.
Israel has just ramped up its offensive in Gaza, with Palestinian health officials reporting at least 130 people were killed overnight into Sunday.
Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed troops had begun “extensive ground operations throughout the northern and southern Gaza Strip”.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 464 people had died in Israeli military strikes in the week to Sunday.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
In a statement on Sunday, IDF said its air force struck “over 670 Hamas terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip to disrupt enemy preparations and support ground operations” over the past week.
Israel has launched an escalation to increase pressure on Hamas, seize territory, displace Palestinians to the south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.
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