2025 in Review: A Year in Images
PlanetScope image of the Richat Structure, Mauritania, captured July 31, 2025. © Planet Labs PBC. All Rights Reserved.
StoriesViewed from orbit, the celebrations, intrigues, and poignant moments of 2025 take on a different appearance and significance. We’ve gathered some of our most striking images of the year, which provide a unique record of both tumultuous events and hopeful moments of community and natural beauty. The view from above represents a distinct snapshot of life on Earth, lending an important angle to the unfolding story of humankind and the planet we share.
This rich collection of images reflects our core mission of imaging the world daily, and we’re honored to support our customers in government, commercial, and news organizations by making change visible, accessible and actionable.
As we work to make sense of a changing and often confusing world, we’re grateful for the opportunity to share these images of 2025, as seen from space. Enjoy, and see you in 2026!
Global Cultural Events
To kick off our look back at 2025, we turn to images of festivals, gatherings, religious events, and other cultural moments that brought communities together around the world. In January we captured a view of India’s Maha Kumbh Mela, or festival of the sacred pitcher, where hundreds of millions of pilgrims traveled to Prayagraj to celebrate.
SkySat • Maha Kumbh Mela, Prayagraj, India • January 19, 2025
Our next image, from late April, shows mourners gathered in Vatican City for Pope Francis’ funeral.
SkySat • Pope Francis’ Funeral, Vatican City • April 26, 2025
One of the United States’ most colorful celebrations takes place annually in Chicago, where the Chicago River is dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day.
SkySat • Chicago, Illinois, USA • March 17, 2025
Next up is the famously ephemeral Burning Man in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. The temporary city has an intricate geometric layout that’s visible from orbit.
SkySat • Black Rock City, Nevada, United States • August 24, 2025
Wildfires
Communities around the world battled wildfires in 2025, which strained emergency response networks and caused billions of dollars in damage. In addition to monitoring fires as part of our work with partners like Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab, Planet’s Disaster Data program made select imagery available for qualified users supporting disaster response efforts.
Multiple wildfires struck the Los Angeles region in January, with the two largest impacting Altadena and the Pacific Palisades. By the time of containment, these fires were the second and third most destructive in California history, respectively.
PlanetScope (false color) • Palisades Fire, Los Angeles, CA • January 9, 2025
France’s Aude region faced the nation’s largest wildfire in 75 years, with Planet imagery helping to reveal the extent of the damage.
SkySat • Lagrasse Wildfires, Ribaute, France • August 7, 2025
Japan also contended with historic wildfires, which burned thousands of acres in Japan’s Ofunato region in March.
SkySat (false color) • Ofunato Wildfires, Iwate Prefecture, Japan • March 7, 2025
Across continents, wildfires are becoming larger, costlier, and more deadly, making timely monitoring critical for an effective response.
Moments in Geopolitics
Planet plays a critical role in supporting impactful journalism worldwide through our Media and Think Tank Program, which helps news organizations discover and publish the unique imagery needed to tell the most timely global stories.
In 2025, our satellites continued to capture global history as it unfolded, including some of the most critical moments in geopolitics.
In early June, Ukrainian forces carried out a highly coordinated surprise attack deep behind Russian lines, damaging a number of Russian aircraft. The Washington Post used Planet imagery to help determine which (and how many) aircraft were damaged.
SkySat • Strikes on Belaya Air Base, Irkutsk, Russia • June 4, 2025
Later that month, the United States carried out strategic strikes on nuclear sites in Iran, facilitated by B-2 stealth bombers. Planet captured images of the aftermath, which were used by multiple outlets, including The New York Times, to assess the extent of the damage.
SkySat • Strikes on Fordo Fuel Enrichment Plant, Qom, Iran • June 22, 2025
A Planet image from July of a crowd gathering around an aid convoy in Gaza showed the worsening humanitarian crisis, which was published by The New York Times.
SkySat • Crowd Surrounds Aid Convoy Near Khan Younis, Gaza Strip • July 26, 2025
In November, The Financial Times published an in-depth investigation of construction on The Line, Saudi Arabia’s futuristic linear city, drawing on Planet imagery.
PlanetScope • Construction on The Line, Al Bad, Saudi Arabia • October 8, 2025
In late May, the launch of a new North Korean warship failed catastrophically when the vessel capsized. Numerous outlets covering this story, including Reuters, leveraged Planet imagery of this historic failure to launch.
SkySat • Capsized Naval Vessel, Chongjin, North Korea • May 24, 2025
Dynamic Cities
Built environments are places of constant dynamism and evolution, with cityscapes comprising some of our most visually compelling imagery from this year. The following images capture the distinct character of global cities in 2025, offering both unique views of iconic skylines, and perspectives on major events.
In late October, our image of the sudden flattening of the White House’s East Wing was used across media outlets including ABC News. The administration has stated that the demolition will make way for a new ballroom.
SkySat • Before and After the Demolition of the East Wing, Washington, D.C., United States • September 26, 2025 & October 23, 2025
This unique off-nadir image of New York City in early October shows boats transiting in and out of the East River, passing beneath the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.
Pelican • New York, NY, United States • October 5, 2025
A PlanetScope image from mid-June shows the vivid colors and textures of Zanzibar City and its nearby islands, the site of Planet’s pilot project with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, which helped enable informed decision-making for the government of Zanzibar in areas including coastal-erosion management and urban planning.
PlanetScope • Zanzibar City, Tanzania • May 24, 2025
In early December, we snapped high-resolution images of race day at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Lando Norris secured his debut F1 world championship.
SkySat • Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, UAE • December 7, 2025
Extreme Weather and Natural Disasters
2025 was a year of unprecedented natural disasters for communities around the world. Our satellites captured images of volcanic eruptions, blizzards, earthquakes, and landslides.
Planet data helped support disaster preparedness and response efforts, in addition to journalism. Accurate and timely data is critical for mitigating the harm caused by natural disasters, and we’re proud to support this vital work.
Late January brought an unusual sight to the Gulf Coast, as a rare blizzard blanketed cities from Houston to New Orleans with snow. The storm caused widespread power outages, traffic disruptions, and flight cancellations.
SkySat • Gulf Coast Blizzard, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA • January 23, 2025
Klyuchevskaya Sopka, a massive stratovolcano in Russia’s far east Kamchatka Peninsula, erupted hours after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Russia in late July. This SkySat image shows smoke encircling the volcano’s slopes, with the crimson glow of magma visible in the summit crater.
SkySat • Eruption of Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Russia • July 31, 2025
The image below shows the village of Blatten in Switzerland after the nearby Birch Glacier experienced a partial collapse. While the village was tragically destroyed, a swift and timely evacuation helped ensure all residents were moved to safety, preventing any casualties.
SkySat • Blatten Landslide, Switzerland • May 31, 2025
More recently, in late November, Cyclone Ditwah inundated a huge portion of Sri Lanka, with floodwaters claiming lives and forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate. Planet data was used in journalistic analyses of the cyclone’s damage.
PlanetScope • After Cyclone Ditwah, Colombo and Kaduwela, Sri Lanka • November 30, 2025
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar caused extensive damage, with injuries and deaths numbering in the thousands. Planet satellites captured the collapse of a control tower at Naypyitaw Airport.
SkySat • Control Tower Collapse (Naypyidaw Airport), Naypyidaw, Myanmar • March 29, 2025
Remarkable Landscapes
While our imagery of disasters and geopolitical events is critical for emergency response and global transparency, our satellites also capture the places that bring us together, showcasing our planet’s diverse and abundant beauty. The cultural value of these images transcends their basic utility: they are a distinct and singular record of our world’s biotic and geomorphological heritage.
An oblique view of Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier reveals mesmerizing textures in the ice.
SkySat • Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica • February 5, 2025
Colorful concentric rings give Mauritania’s Richat Structure the appearance of a massive, unblinking eye.
PlanetScope • Richat Structure, Mauritania • July 31, 2025
This image shows the luminous azure lagoon within Midway Attoll, a United States territory far in the North Pacific.
PlanetScope • Midway Atoll • April 8, 2025
Rugged and beautiful, the rocky coastline of the Kimberley in Western Australia is home to powerful tropical tides.
PlanetScope • The Kimberley, Western Australia, Australia • August 12, 2025
As we look ahead to another year at Planet, we’re excited to bring you more images of beauty and community, and to continue promoting transparency for a safer and more secure world. Follow us on Instagram for stunning imagery shared weekly, and on LinkedIn and X for critical business updates.
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