Night Lights Track Urban Energy Shift

Satellite night‑light maps (NASA Black Marble) plus corrections for clouds and atmosphere reveal where human activity and electricity use are increasing or decreasing. Between 2014 and 2022 global radiance rose ~34% overall, but China and India brightened while parts of Europe and the U.S. dimmed due to LED adoption and an energy shock in 2022. — Night‑light radiance is a cheap, reproducible public dataset that can be used to monitor urban growth, energy conservation, and the local impact of geopolitical shocks in near real time.