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Data Vis Dispatch, July 22: Energy transition, construction, and China

The best of last week’s big and small data visualizations
Portrait of Veronika Halamková
Veronika Halamková

Welcome back to the 202nd 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 the energy transition, construction, and China.

This week, we'll start with a closer look at China, with visualizations covering clean energy, cars, and the country's growing love of durian.

CarbonBrief: <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-chinas-clean-energy-exports-in-2024-alone-will-cut-overseas-co2-by-1/"><strong>China’s clean-energy exports in 2024 alone will cut overseas CO2 by 1%</strong></a>, July 22
CarbonBrief: China’s clean-energy exports in 2024 alone will cut overseas CO2 by 1%, July 22
The Globe and the Mail: "Of the 25 countries surveyed, only one, South Korea, recorded a drop in favourability toward Beijing," July 15 (<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/theglobeandmail.com/post/3ltzhmhru722h"><strong>Bluesky</strong></a>)
The Globe and the Mail: "Of the 25 countries surveyed, only one, South Korea, recorded a drop in favourability toward Beijing," July 15 (Bluesky)
Bloomberg: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-china-ev-byd-global-price-cuts/#:~:text=in%20%242.2%20billion.-,Chinese%20automakers%20are%20now%20projected%20to%20capture%2030%25%20of%20global,America%2C%20according%20to%20consultancy%20AlixPartners."><strong>China Will Make Almost a Third of the World's Cars by 2030</strong></a>, July 18
Bloomberg: China Will Make Almost a Third of the World's Cars by 2030, July 18
Newsgraphy: <a href="https://newsgraphy.my/malaysia-durian-production-and-consumption/"><strong>国人平均吃多少公斤榴裢?</strong></a> [<em>How many kilograms of durian do Chinese people eat on average?</em>], July 18
Newsgraphy: 国人平均吃多少公斤榴裢? [How many kilograms of durian do Chinese people eat on average?], July 18

Next up, more good news from the energy sector: the rise of electrification and solar power.

Ember: <a href="https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/the-long-march-of-electrification/"><strong>The long march of electrification</strong></a>, July 22
Ember: The long march of electrification, July 22
Canary Media: <a href="https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/record-power-eu-clean-energy"><strong>Solar leads EU’s power mix for first time ever</strong></a>, July 18
Canary Media: Solar leads EU’s power mix for first time ever, July 18

Construction, on the other hand, is not only hard to decarbonize but can also be expensive and lengthy.

The European Correspondent: <a href="https://mailchi.mp/europeancorrespondent/patriotic-baby-making?e=%5BUNIQID%5D"><strong>Where building breaks banks</strong></a><strong>,</strong> July 22
The European Correspondent: Where building breaks banks, July 22
The Guardian: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2025/jul/16/can-australia-reach-its-2029-housing-construction-target-data-shows-were-already-falling-behind"><strong>Can Australia reach its 2029 housing construction target? Data shows we’re already falling behind</strong></a>, July 16
The Guardian: Can Australia reach its 2029 housing construction target? Data shows we’re already falling behind, July 16

Two maps take us to the United States to explore its network of detention centers and changing weather patterns.

The Financial Times: Inside America’s booming immigration detention industry, July 16
The New York Times: Here’s Why There’s So Much Flash Flooding in the U.S. Right Now, July 16

Ukraine has been facing increasingly effective drone attacks, as well as gaps in its criminal justice system.

The Financial Times: <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/1a19df67-3453-4a16-abf1-9fda36142f4b"><strong>Russia’s drone swarms pierce Ukraine’s defences at record rate</strong></a>, July 21
The Financial Times: Russia’s drone swarms pierce Ukraine’s defences at record rate, July 21
Тексти.org.ua: <a href="https://texty.org.ua/projects/115496/imitaciya-narkoborotby-chomu-pravoohoronna-systema-karaye-spozhyvachiv-a-ne-prodavciv/"><strong>Члени наркобанд майже не потрапляють за грати. Аналіз судових рішень</strong></a> [<em>Members of drug gangs almost never go to jail. Analysis of court decisions</em>], July 17
Тексти.org.ua: Члени наркобанд майже не потрапляють за грати. Аналіз судових рішень [Members of drug gangs almost never go to jail. Analysis of court decisions], July 17

German salaries are rising faster than inflation, while inflation in Hungary isn't as bad as it seems.

Átlátszó: <a href="https://atlatszo.hu/adat/2025/07/15/a-lakossag-hatszor-akkoranak-erzi-az-inflaciot-mint-amit-a-ksh-mer/"><strong>A lakosság hatszor akkorának érzi az inflációt, mint amit a KSH mér</strong></a> [<em>The population perceives inflation to be six times higher than what the Central Statistical Office measures</em>], July 15
Átlátszó: A lakosság hatszor akkorának érzi az inflációt, mint amit a KSH mér [The population perceives inflation to be six times higher than what the Central Statistical Office measures], July 15
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: <a href="https://www.faz.net/aktuell/karriere-hochschule/buero-co/neue-gehaltsdaten-2024-so-viel-verdienen-die-deutschen-110597341.html"><strong>So viel verdienen die Deutschen</strong></a> [This is how much Germans earn], July 22
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: So viel verdienen die Deutschen [This is how much Germans earn], July 22

Other visualizations of the week cover the headline history of Singapore, bus routes in Thailand, and how we spend our days.

The Straits Times: <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/graphics/2025/07/local-to-global-top-news-in-singapore/index.html?shell"><strong>From local to global: What made top news in Singapore over the last 180 years?</strong></a>, July 15
The Straits Times: From local to global: What made top news in Singapore over the last 180 years?, July 15
WeVis: <a href="https://wevis.info/unmerry-go-round/"><strong>ในแต่ละจังหวัด1 เส้นทางเดินรถต้องแบกรับประชากรกี่คน?</strong></a> [In each province, how many people does one bus route have to carry?], July 16
WeVis: ในแต่ละจังหวัด1 เส้นทางเดินรถต้องแบกรับประชากรกี่คน? [In each province, how many people does one bus route have to carry?], July 16
FlowingData: <a href="https://flowingdata.com/2025/07/17/most-common-use-time/"><strong>Most common use of time throughout the day, by age and sex</strong></a>, July 18
FlowingData: Most common use of time throughout the day, by age and sex, July 18

What else we found interesting

The Straits Times: How to make the most out of small spaces in Singapore, July 20
Reuters: <a href="https://www.reuters.com/graphics/INDIA-CRASH/zjvqowwxqvx/"><strong>How the Air India crash unfolded on ground</strong></a>, July 18
Reuters: How the Air India crash unfolded on ground, July 18

Help us make this dispatch better! We’d love to hear which newsletters, blogs, or social media accounts we need to follow to learn about interesting projects, especially from less-covered parts of the world (Asia, South America, Africa). Write us at hello@datawrapper.de or leave a comment below. Want the Dispatch in your inbox every Tuesday? Sign up for our Blog Update newsletter!

Portrait of Veronika Halamková

Veronika Halamková (she/her, @v_halamkova) is a data vis writer in the Communications team. She lives in Czechia and creates and writes beautiful data visualizations. Before Datawrapper, she worked in the data team at Tortoise Media.

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