by Andrew Miller
11. May 2009 03:01
This amazing video shows all the commercial airline flights across the world within a single 24 hour time period, condensed down into about 2 minutes. Watch the shadow of the sun as it makes its way across the planet, and how the concentration of air traffic corresponds (particularly in North America and Europe) to the hours of daylight.
World_AirTraffic_24-Hour_Period.wmv (5.75 mb)
Of course, we just wouldn’t be Earthscanners if we watched this without being reminded of the environmental impact of so many flights across the globe on a daily basis… and one book that immediately comes to mind is this year’s Climate Change and Aviation: Issues, Challenges and Solutions by Stefan Gossling and Paul Upham.
Considering the main themes of the book, particularly concerning the sheer number of flights that take off and land every day across the world, this video really helps to put things in startling perspective.
