First atlas of urban nighttime light remote-sensing data unveiled

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS) has released the world's first atlas of urban nighttime light remote-sensing data, providing support for the research on urban sustainable development.

The atlas contains 10-meter resolution nighttime light data on 147 cities in 105 countries around the world.

The data was captured by the satellite SDGSAT-1, which was launched into space on Nov. 5, 2021 and is the world's first space science satellite dedicated to serving the U.N. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The satellite is designed to provide space observation data for the monitoring, evaluation and study of interactions between humans, nature and sustainable development, according to its developer, the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Guo Huadong, head of the CBAS, said the atlas is an important achievement in the field of Earth surface environmental elements detection under low-light conditions.

The data can fully reflect the pattern of urban human settlement and economic development, and provide data support for related research and decision-making on urban sustainable development, Guo added.