Data Vis Dispatch, February 3: Measles, ICE, and skiing

It’s cold in our Berlin office, and, as always, a cold is also making the rounds. However, illness is not just a seasonal inconvenience. Measles, once declared eliminated in the U.S., are back. Diabetes is rising quickly in South Asia and Africa. And neglected tropical diseases continue to shape everyday life for millions.

In terms of health, birdwatching can ease stress, tension, and fatigue. That's great! What's not great: Obamacare’s open enrollment period is over, and a $1 income difference can have a significant impact.

Apart from causing colds, the freezing temperatures also prompt many people to head to the mountains for a skiing trip. However, skiing isn't getting cheaper, and ski resorts are losing snow.

Apropos of losing snow, let's take a look at how Greenland looks without its enormous ice shield, using sub-ice data for the area.

Greenland is the perfect gateway for talking about the U.S., where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities are widely discussed. Newsrooms visualized arrests and long transfers between jails.

The political violence carried out by ICE is an impressive example of democratic backsliding in the U.S., which happens much faster than in other countries.

Other concerned visualizations examine the U.S. economy. They analyze increased tariffs and their effects, as well as stock manipulation schemes.

In light of all this worrying news, let's not forget about other conflicts, such as U.S. strikes in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific or the shifting border in Ukraine.

We conclude this rather negative episode of the Data Vis Dispatch with some interactive visualizations. These range from a horizontal scroll over an empty street in the UK, over an auditory exploration of languages spoken around the world, to a sun of Oscar nominees and winners.