A Data Visualization Newsletter

An analysis of global temperatures released last week found that 2020 was effectively tied with 2016 as the hottest year on record. The study, by the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and visualized by The New York Times, showed that Siberia and the Arctic were among the hottest regions in the world last year, while Europe experienced blistering heat waves as late as September.

In the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing last year, support grew in the United States to defund the police. But eight months later, little change can be seen in major metros. Instead, analysis from Bloomberg shows that law enforcement budgets are slated to increase as a proportion of total expenditures in the nation’s 50 largest metros this year.

Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ182 plunged into the sea off the coast of Indonesia last week with no explanation. Now, investigators are combing the sea bed for answers. 20 meters below the surface, human divers are working with remotely operated vehicles and sonar-equipped naval ships to locate, raise, and identify debris from the wreckage. This piece from Reuters details the search efforts and visualizes the scale of recovery.

Last newsletter, we shared a recreation of the shocking events at the capitol by The Washington Post. This week, The New York Times put out their own visual exploration of what took place, shedding more light on how the day actually went down. It contains more first-hand accounts from the event and maps of where the protestors stormed the building.