Free tools · NASA Black Marble, night light
Night light in City of Cape Town
Night light seen from space, 2025: brightness 13.5 nW/cm²/sr on average, 65% of the land lit. 11% brighter than 2024; 6.1% brighter than 2012.
Night light is the light a satellite sees from space at about 1:30 in the morning: street lights, buildings, mines, factories, harbours and fires. NASA takes out moonlight, haze and stray light, leaves out cloudy nights and sets faint glow to zero. Brightness is the light given off, in nanowatts per square centimetre per steradian (nW/cm²/sr), averaged over the place; “lit” is the share of the land giving off 1 or more, twice the faint glow NASA treats as noise.
What it is not: it cannot tell the grid from solar or a generator, who pays for the light, how many people live there or how well off they are. A load-shedding month mixes dark nights with lit ones, fires and flares can light a month up, and a cloudy month rests on fewer nights.
2025
- 13.5Average brightnessnW/cm²/sr, NASA’s yearly product
- 65%Of the land lit43% bright (5 nW/cm²/sr or more)
- 6.1% brighterAgainst 20122012: 12.7 nW/cm²/sr, 55% lit
2026 so far (10 months, from the monthly figures): brightness 14.0 nW/cm²/sr, 65% lit. NASA’s yearly figure for 2026 comes early next year.
Every year since 2012
Show the numbers
| When or what | Figure |
|---|---|
| 2012 | brightness 12.7 nW/cm²/sr, 55% lit |
| 2013 | brightness 13.3 nW/cm²/sr, 56% lit |
| 2014 | brightness 13.8 nW/cm²/sr, 57% lit |
| 2015 | brightness 14.0 nW/cm²/sr, 57% lit |
| 2016 | brightness 14.0 nW/cm²/sr, 57% lit |
| 2017 | brightness 13.8 nW/cm²/sr, 57% lit |
| 2018 | brightness 13.6 nW/cm²/sr, 58% lit |
| 2019 | brightness 13.2 nW/cm²/sr, 58% lit |
| 2020 | brightness 12.4 nW/cm²/sr, 58% lit |
| 2021 | brightness 12.1 nW/cm²/sr, 58% lit |
| 2022 | brightness 11.9 nW/cm²/sr, 62% lit |
| 2023 | brightness 10.9 nW/cm²/sr, 63% lit |
| 2024 | brightness 12.2 nW/cm²/sr, 64% lit |
| 2025 | brightness 13.5 nW/cm²/sr, 65% lit |
Month by month
Every month since January 2012brightness, nW/cm²/sr
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 15.2 | 14.2 | 14.2 | 13.9 | 13.4 | 13.0 | 13.7 | 14.2 | 13.7 | 14.5 | ||
| 2025 | 13.6 | 13.8 | 13.1 | 13.3 | 12.8 | 12.3 | 12.4 | 12.7 | 14.5 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 14.6 |
| 2024 | 12.1 | 11.1 | 11.4 | 11.3 | 11.1 | 10.7 | 10.3 | 12.4 | 13.3 | 13.0 | 14.7 | 13.9 |
| 2023 | 11.4 | 11.3 | 10.9 | 10.6 | 9.9 | 10.0 | 9.9 | 10.6 | 10.3 | 11.6 | 11.7 | 12.2 |
| 2022 | 13.0 | 12.6 | 12.5 | 12.7 | 11.7 | 11.4 | 10.9 | 11.6 | 10.9 | 11.5 | 12.3 | 11.7 |
| 2021 | 12.2 | 12.4 | 11.8 | 12.0 | 11.5 | 12.0 | 11.3 | 12.1 | 13.0 | 12.4 | 12.0 | 12.7 |
| 2020 | 13.2 | 13.0 | 13.5 | 13.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 12.0 | 11.0 | 11.1 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| 2019 | 13.9 | 13.4 | 13.4 | 13.3 | 12.7 | 12.1 | 12.8 | 12.1 | 13.4 | 13.6 | 14.1 | 14.0 |
| 2018 | 13.9 | 14.0 | 14.2 | 13.9 | 13.2 | 12.8 | 12.9 | 12.8 | 13.0 | 13.8 | 14.4 | 14.2 |
| 2017 | 14.6 | 14.4 | 14.6 | 13.2 | 13.0 | 13.5 | 12.2 | 13.6 | 14.1 | 14.0 | 13.9 | 14.2 |
| 2016 | 14.6 | 14.9 | 14.1 | 14.1 | 14.2 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 13.4 | 13.9 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 14.8 |
| 2015 | 14.2 | 14.7 | 14.2 | 14.1 | 13.8 | 13.4 | 14.0 | 14.1 | 13.7 | 13.5 | 13.9 | 14.4 |
| 2014 | 14.2 | 14.0 | 13.2 | 13.8 | 12.3 | 11.9 | 13.2 | 13.4 | 14.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| 2013 | 13.1 | 13.3 | 13.9 | 13.3 | 12.9 | 12.1 | 13.0 | 13.2 | 13.2 | 13.5 | 13.7 | 14.4 |
| 2012 | 12.8 | 13.1 | 12.4 | 13.1 | 11.4 | 11.8 | 12.3 | 13.0 | 13.3 | 13.2 | 13.0 | 13.3 |
Hover or tap a month for its lit share, how much NASA filled from earlier months and how many clear nights it rests on. Every figure is also in the API.
Every year
| Year | Brightness (nW/cm²/sr) | Lit | Bright | Filled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 13.5 | 65% | 43% | 0% |
| 2024 | 12.2 | 64% | 42% | 0% |
| 2023 | 10.9 | 63% | 41% | 0% |
| 2022 | 11.9 | 62% | 42% | 0% |
| 2021 | 12.1 | 58% | 41% | 0% |
| 2020 | 12.4 | 58% | 41% | 0% |
| 2019 | 13.2 | 58% | 41% | 0% |
| 2018 | 13.6 | 58% | 41% | 0% |
| 2017 | 13.8 | 57% | 40% | 0% |
| 2016 | 14.0 | 57% | 40% | 0% |
| 2015 | 14.0 | 57% | 40% | 0% |
| 2014 | 13.8 | 57% | 40% | 0% |
| 2013 | 13.3 | 56% | 39% | 0% |
| 2012 | 12.7 | 55% | 39% | 0% |
Lit: the share of the land giving off 1 nW/cm²/sr or more. Bright: 5 or more. Filled: the share NASA filled from earlier months for want of a clear night.
Its 118 wards, 2025by ward number
- Ward 120.2, 100% lit
- Ward 240.5, 100% lit
- Ward 342.6, 100% lit
- Ward 449.5, 100% lit
- Ward 534.6, 100% lit
- Ward 617.0, 100% lit
- Ward 744.5, 100% lit
- Ward 823.3, 100% lit
- Ward 960.2, 100% lit
- Ward 1052.0, 100% lit
- Ward 1136.7, 100% lit
- Ward 1237.1, 100% lit
- Ward 133.4, 46% lit
- Ward 1422.1, 100% lit
- Ward 155.6, 50% lit
- Ward 1630.5, 100% lit
- Ward 1731.0, 100% lit
- Ward 1839.2, 100% lit
- Ward 1930.9, 100% lit
- Ward 2040.3, 100% lit
- Ward 2125.7, 100% lit
- Ward 2236.5, 100% lit
- Ward 234.5, 63% lit
- Ward 2424.4, 100% lit
- Ward 2543.7, 100% lit
- Ward 2650.2, 100% lit
- Ward 2735.6, 100% lit
- Ward 2856.6, 100% lit
- Ward 292.1, 21% lit
- Ward 3048.6, 100% lit
- Ward 3160.2, 100% lit
- Ward 323.8, 47% lit
- Ward 3332.4, 100% lit
- Ward 3446.7, 100% lit
- Ward 3537.6, 100% lit
- Ward 3638.5, 100% lit
- Ward 3757.8, 100% lit
- Ward 3853.5, 100% lit
- Ward 3945.6, 100% lit
- Ward 4049.0, 100% lit
- Ward 4147.8, 100% lit
- Ward 4253.5, 100% lit
- Ward 4315.0, 100% lit
- Ward 4450.9, 100% lit
- Ward 4519.3, 100% lit
- Ward 4647.5, 100% lit
- Ward 4760.3, 100% lit
- Ward 4843.6, 100% lit
- Ward 4943.2, 100% lit
- Ward 5045.0, 100% lit
- Ward 5149.5, 100% lit
- Ward 5246.3, 100% lit
- Ward 5347.3, 100% lit
- Ward 547.4, 62% lit
- Ward 5541.0, 100% lit
- Ward 5635.6, 100% lit
- Ward 5729.7, 100% lit
- Ward 5835.3, 100% lit
- Ward 5934.6, 100% lit
- Ward 6040.5, 100% lit
- Ward 611.0, 19% lit
- Ward 6211.0, 100% lit
- Ward 6333.5, 100% lit
- Ward 6410.8, 100% lit
- Ward 6542.1, 100% lit
- Ward 6639.7, 100% lit
- Ward 6713.8, 100% lit
- Ward 6835.1, 100% lit
- Ward 694.5, 67% lit
- Ward 7016.3, 100% lit
- Ward 716.3, 83% lit
- Ward 7231.2, 100% lit
- Ward 7326.1, 100% lit
- Ward 747.0, 82% lit
- Ward 7543.5, 100% lit
- Ward 7637.9, 100% lit
- Ward 7715.9, 100% lit
- Ward 7844.2, 100% lit
- Ward 7927.5, 100% lit
- Ward 8039.3, 100% lit
- Ward 8151.1, 100% lit
- Ward 8225.7, 100% lit
- Ward 8321.5, 100% lit
- Ward 844.5, 51% lit
- Ward 8535.4, 100% lit
- Ward 8648.7, 100% lit
- Ward 8739.2, 100% lit
- Ward 8843.4, 100% lit
- Ward 8947.2, 100% lit
- Ward 9015.5, 100% lit
- Ward 9139.3, 100% lit
- Ward 9248.4, 100% lit
- Ward 9324.2, 100% lit
- Ward 9441.2, 100% lit
- Ward 9512.0, 100% lit
- Ward 9635.5, 100% lit
- Ward 9749.7, 100% lit
- Ward 9840.2, 100% lit
- Ward 9917.3, 100% lit
- Ward 1003.5, 36% lit
- Ward 10127.2, 100% lit
- Ward 1029.7, 100% lit
- Ward 10328.7, 100% lit
- Ward 10431.2, 100% lit
- Ward 1052.5, 44% lit
- Ward 10627.5, 100% lit
- Ward 10735.0, 100% lit
- Ward 10818.5, 100% lit
- Ward 10917.5, 100% lit
- Ward 11036.7, 100% lit
- Ward 11140.2, 100% lit
- Ward 11224.8, 100% lit
- Ward 11340.6, 100% lit
- Ward 11435.9, 100% lit
- Ward 11588.7, 100% lit
- Ward 11645.5, 100% lit
- Ward 11731.0, 100% lit
- Ward 11819.6, 100% lit
Listed by number, not ranked: night light shows where light is, not how people live. Each ward’s page sets it against its own past and its municipality.
Every municipality · Everything we hold for City of Cape Town
Source
NASA Black Marble night lights, VNP46A3 (monthly) and VNP46A4 (yearly), collection 2, from NASA’s LAADS DAAC (doi:10.5067/VIIRS/VNP46A3.002 and doi:10.5067/VIIRS/VNP46A4.002). The product’s page.
What we changed: we added up NASA’s light over each 2026 ward (each pixel, about 460 m across, split in four and given to the ward holding each quarter) and added the wards up to municipalities, districts and provinces.
The satellite (Suomi NPP) passes at about 1:30 in the morning. NASA’s monthly figure is the mean of the month’s clear nights; a pixel with no clear night is filled from earlier months, and that share is shown. The yearly figure is NASA’s own mean of the year’s clear nights, so it is close to, not exactly, the mean of the twelve months.
Dataset: night light by ward, release 2026-11-13.