In the past few days, one visual story has overtaken all the others. Government control collapsed across Afghanistan as the Taliban took province after province:
Agence France-Presse: "The Taliban's increasing hold over Afghanistan. #AFPgraphics map showing parts of Afghanistan under government control and territories under the influence of the Taliban, from April to August," August 12 (Tweet The Guardian: Taliban tighten grip on approaches to Kabul in Afghanistan offensive Agence France-Presse: "The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan: how the provincial cities fell in August," August 17 (Tweet Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. Mohammed Haddad: "#Afghanistan: Mapping the advance of the Taliban An animated map showing how and when the Taliban captured 26 out of the country’s 34 provincial capitals in just 10 days," August 15 (Tweet Article El Confidencial: El mapa del Afganistán tomado por los talibanes: así ha sido la conquista 'muyahidín,' NBC: 5 days: The key dates that led to a Taliban takeover in Afghanistan The Wall Street Journal: How the Taliban Took Over Afghanistan’s Provincial Capitals, Including Kabul , August 16 Although maps clearly dominated on this topic, some newsrooms showed us the captured territory in chart form :
The New York Times: 20 Years of Defense, Erased by the Taliban in a Few Months Zeit Online: Der Blitzvormarsch der Taliban Most people might not consider the release of the 2020 US Census results a story to rival the Taliban rout — but in data visualization, it just about was. At stake is the reapportionment of congressional seats :
CNN: Census release shows America is more diverse and more multiracial than ever The Associated Press: Census data puts target on rural, Rust Belt House districts FiveThirtyEight: How The House Got Stuck At 435 Seats , August 12 The nationwide trends were low population growth and increasing racial and ethnic diversity :
The New York Times: Where the Racial Makeup of the U.S. Shifted in the Last Decade The Washington Post: Mapping America’s racial population shifts over the last decade NPR: What The New Census Data Shows About Race Depends On How You Look At It The Washington Post: A Colorado county offers a glimpse of America’s future A number of interactive tools allowed readers to explore the changes in their own neighborhoods :
The San Francisco Chronicle: 2020 Census: Changes in population and racial makeup of Bay Area neighborhoods CNN: Race and ethnicity across the nation The Washington Post: How the racial makeup of where you live has changed since 1990 The Washington Post: Where America’s developed areas are growing: ‘Way off into the horizon,’ A major earthquake in Haiti was this week's headline natural disaster:
The New York Times: Haiti News: Search for Survivors After Quake Kills Nearly 1,300 Reuters: Earthquake in Haiti And we continued a summer of devastating heat, drought, and wildfire (not to mention floods):
The New York Times: Hidden Toll of the Northwest Heat Wave: Hundreds of Extra Deaths The Wall Street Journal: Severe Drought Could Threaten Power Supply in West for Years to Come San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Drought Map & Tracker Neue Zürcher Zeitung: In diesen europäischen Ländern wüten Waldbrände: eine Übersicht in 8 Grafiken Reuters: Extreme heat and wildfires hit the Mediterranean region Süddeutsche Zeitung: Brennt es wirklich häufiger? Neue Zürcher Zeitung: Mit Satellitenbildern lässt sich rekonstruieren, wie auf der griechischen Insel Euböa 50 910 Hektare verbrannten Zeit Online: Wenn Südeuropa brennt Financial Times: California struggles to control fire devastation wrought by global warming The Wall Street Journal: Climate-Change Report Points to Rise of Flash Flooding The underlying cause is warming caused by carbon emissions — but neither the risks nor the blame are equally shared:
Quartz: We read the 4000-page IPCC climate report so you don’t have to The Economist: Demand for air conditioning is set to surge by 2050 The Economist: Can Europe go green without nuclear power? New Statesman: The US produces the same carbon emissions as 89 countries in the Global South Plus... there's a pandemic. Vaccines are still effective :
The New York Times: See How Vaccines Can Make the Difference in Delta Variant’s Impact Le Monde: Covid-19 : neuf fois plus de non-vaccinés sont admis en soins critiques El Diario: Los fallecidos de la quinta ola igualan a los de la cuarta pero los contagios se han cuadruplicado FiveThirtyEight: Unvaccinated America, In 5 Charts The Washington Post: Spread of delta variant ignites covid hot spots in highly vaccinated parts of the U.S., Post analysis finds , August 12 But they haven't stopped a fresh wave of Delta variant cases , or returned things to normal at school or at work :
CNN: One month later: These maps show how quickly Covid engulfed the US again The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Cases Surge as Students Return to Schools McKinsey & Company: Educating K–12 students amid COVID-19: The parental perspective The Economist: For programmers, remote working is becoming the norm In politics, early elections have been called in Canada and the German campaign continues as well:
Le Devoir: Revisitez la Chambre des communes à sa dissolution The Economist: Who will succeed Angela Merkel? Finally, in general topics , it's fair to say the theme of the week was "circles":
The New York Times: Biden Administration Prompts Largest Permanent Increase in Food Stamps Bloomberg: MacKenzie Scott’s Money Bombs Are Single Handedly Reshaping America Süddeutsche Zeitung: Strand der Hoffnungslosen The Economist: By the numbers, Lionel Messi is European football’s best scorer ever South China Morning Post: Cashing in on gold 
