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New atlas reveals a dry and unfair world

The globe

A map of undersea fibre-optic cables and Internet hosts shows Africa is being all but left out of the global communications loop (Image: iStockphoto)

A new atlas based on the latest digital mapping techniques and satellite imagery techniques reflects a world of shrinking water resources and a growing gap between the developing and the developed countries.

The atlas, launched this month by the National Geographic Society includes a record 17,000 updates and editorial changes from the last edition released five years ago.

The world is changing at a more rapid pace than in previous decades, said the Society's chief cartographer, Dr Allen Carroll.


The 416-page, 3.2 kilogram book includes maps and graphics that reflect global challenges ranging from environmental degradation to the global distribution of Internet and communications technology. Other topics covered are "Conflict and Terror", migration, refugee flows and health and literacy rates.

"The goal is to get people excited about the world and to increase people's understanding," said Carroll. "There is too much local focus but not enough understanding of how what happens in the world affects our lives."

Carroll says that more than ever, the political and economic maps reflect a growing gap between the developing and the developed world.

For example, he said, a map of undersea fibre-optic cables shows a jumbled mass of cables between Europe and the U.S. but a lone one snaking around the west coast of Africa and skipping much of east Africa.





A 'higher' Mount Everest and dropping Dead Sea

Other notable changes in the atlas include the fact that Mount Everest, Earth's highest point, is recorded seven feet 2.1 metres higher at 8,850 metres - not because it has grown but because measurement data is more accurate.

Earth's lowest point, the Dead Sea, has dropped 7.9 metres, down to minus 416 metres because of increased water consumption in that area, said Carroll.


Some of the more impressive satellite imagery in the atlas is a compilation of night time shots taken over several months and pieced together to show human settlements according to the number of bright lights.


Tags: environment, government-and-politics, astronomy-space, computers-and-technology