LOOK: Google Earth Timelapse views Manila’s make-over since 1984

Ranging from infrastructure to pollution and urban development, a lot has changed in Metro Manila since 1984, and Google Earth Timelapse proved these significant changes.

The newest feature from Google Earth gives internet users a quick glimpse of how Metro Manila grew up in a span of three decades. Using 5 million satellite images amounting to around three quadrillion pixels, Google Earth was able to sift and compile images from cities around the globe. Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 also provided newer and sharper glimpses of the cities seen from outer space.

“There’s much more to see, including glacial movement in Antarctica, urban growth, forest gain and loss, and infrastructure development,” Google Earth’s blog post said. While only minuscule transformations were recorded in Metro Manila, drastic transformations can be sighted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where the artificial Palm Islands could be seen. Majestic urban expansion can be attributed to the three-decade “make-over” of Las Vegas, Nevada; Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada; Oakland Bay Bridge in San Francisco, California; and Chongqing, China. The melting of several glaciers, including the Columbia Glacier in Alaska, exposed the negative effects of global warming.

Other time-lapse clips featuring other global cities can be viewed in this YouTube playlist.  Gianna Francesca Catolico