Data Vis Dispatch, August 26: Africa map, nations' energy, and more

Welcome back to the 207th edition of Data Vis Dispatch! Every week, we’ll be publishing a collection of the best small and large data visualizations we find, especially from news organizations — to celebrate data journalism, data visualization, simple charts, elaborate maps, and their creators.

Recurring topics this week include a campaign questioning the Mercator map, nations' energy supply and demand, and more.

A campaign backed by the African Union has been making the cartographic rounds, aiming to abolish the popular Mercator projection in favor of alternatives that better represent the continent's true size:

NPR: <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/08/21/nx-s1-5508358/mercator-map-africa"><strong>African Union backs campaign to replace Mercator map that distorts Africa's size</strong></a>, August 21 — NPR: **African Union backs campaign to replace Mercator map that distorts Africa's size**, August 21

The New York Times: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/world/africa/africa-map-mercator.html"><strong>Africa Is Big, and It Wants the World’s Maps to Show It</strong></a>, August 19 — The New York Times: **Africa Is Big, and It Wants the World’s Maps to Show It**, August 19

Diario Sur: <a href="https://www.diariosur.es/sociedad/africa-discriminada-mapas-20250824165653-ntrc.html"><strong>¿Está África discriminada (también) en los mapas?</strong></a><strong> </strong>[<em>Is Africa discriminated against (also) on maps?</em>], August 24 <span class="badge">Visual demonstration</span> — Diario Sur: **¿Está África discriminada (también) en los mapas?** [*Is Africa discriminated against (also) on maps?*], August 24 Visual demonstration

Solar energy can play a vital role in energy supply and demand:

Bloomberg: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2025-bottlenecks-blackouts-grid-stability-solar-wind/?srnd=phx-graphics-v2"><strong>The Fix for Solar Power Blackouts Is Already Here</strong></a>, August 21 — Bloomberg: **The Fix for Solar Power Blackouts Is Already Here**, August 21

Zeit Online: <a href="https://www.zeit.de/digital/2025-08/sicherheit-solaranlagen-wechselrichter-angriff-hacker"><strong>Ein Superblackout? Eine reale Gefahr in Deutschland</strong></a>, August 25 — Zeit Online: **Ein Superblackout? Eine reale Gefahr in Deutschland**, August 25

Meanwhile the summers get hotter and longer:

The New York Times:<strong> </strong><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/world/canada/canada-heat-map-tracker.html"><strong>Tracking Heat Across Canada</strong></a>, August 26 — The New York Times: **Tracking Heat Across Canada**, August 26

The Washington Post:<strong> </strong><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interactive/2025/longer-summer-hot-temperatures-map"><strong>See how much longer summer is in your town</strong></a>, August 24 — The Washington Post: **See how much longer summer is in your town**, August 24

We saw charts dealing with the U.S. political situation both directly and indirectly:

The New York Times:<strong> </strong><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/08/22/us/politics/trump-emergency-immigration-tariffs-crime.html"><strong>How Trump Used 10 Emergency Declarations to Justify Hundreds of Actions</strong></a>, August 22 — The New York Times: **How Trump Used 10 Emergency Declarations to Justify Hundreds of Actions**, August 22

The New York Times:<strong> </strong><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/08/21/us/trump-deportations-summer-data-immigration-arrests.html"><strong>Deportations Reach New High After Summer Surge in Immigration Arrests</strong></a>, August 21 — The New York Times: **Deportations Reach New High After Summer Surge in Immigration Arrests**, August 21

CBC News: <a href="https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/features/2025/canada-international-trade/"><strong>How Canada’s imports and exports have changed since Trump</strong></a>, August 19 — CBC News: **How Canada’s imports and exports have changed since Trump**, August 19

The New York Times: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/23/health/prescription-drugs-manufacturing-tariffs.html"><strong>Where Your Medicines Are Made</strong></a>, August 23 — The New York Times: **Where Your Medicines Are Made**, August 23

And on the ongoing brutality for civilians in Gaza and Ukraine:

The Washington Post: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2025/gaza-hunger-starvation-children-body/"><strong>Gazans are starving. Here’s what lack of food does to the human body</strong></a>, August 22 — The Washington Post: **Gazans are starving. Here’s what lack of food does to the human body**, August 22

The New York Times: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/08/19/world/europe/ukraine-russia-frontline-maps.html"><strong>How Ukraine’s Frontline Has Moved</strong></a>, August 19 — The New York Times: **How Ukraine’s Frontline Has Moved**, August 19

We'll end on a lighter note with national parks and commuter rail:

The European Correspondent: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DNp-pHvO2L7/"><strong>Nature Counts</strong></a>, August 23 — The European Correspondent: **Nature Counts**, August 23

Bloomberg: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-njtransit-major-delays/"><strong>NJ Transit Is NYC’s Least Reliable Commuter Rail — By a Long Shot</strong></a>, August 19 — Bloomberg: **NJ Transit Is NYC’s Least Reliable Commuter Rail — By a Long Shot**, August 19

Jer Thorp: "[…] In 2009 I made this series, called 360/365, which each visualize a year of people and orgs featured in NYT stories," August 20 (Bluesky, Portfolio)

What else we found interesting

The New York Times: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/08/19/opinion/vaccines-autism-evidence.html"><strong>The Playbook Used to ‘Prove’ Vaccines Cause Autism</strong></a>, August 19 — The New York Times: **The Playbook Used to ‘Prove’ Vaccines Cause Autism**, August 19

Radio France Internationale: <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20250820-antarctic-climate-shifts-threaten-catastrophic-impacts-globally"><strong>Antarctic climate shifts threaten 'catastrophic' impacts globally</strong></a>, August 20 — Radio France Internationale: **Antarctic climate shifts threaten 'catastrophic' impacts globally**, August 20

Reuters: <a href="https://www.reuters.com/graphics/AVIATION-SAFETY/lgpdaagabvo/"><strong>Surviving the unsurvivable</strong></a>, August 21 — Reuters: **Surviving the unsurvivable**, August 21

Applications are open for…

A senior data reporter at RADAR

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Data Vis Dispatch, August 26: Africa map, nations' energy, and more

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