Free tools · NASA Black Marble, night light
Night light in City of Tshwane
Night light seen from space, 2025: brightness 4.9 nW/cm²/sr on average, 51% of the land lit. 6.7% brighter than 2024; 1.4% darker 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
- 4.9Average brightnessnW/cm²/sr, NASA’s yearly product
- 51%Of the land lit24% bright (5 nW/cm²/sr or more)
- 1.4% darkerAgainst 20122012: 5.0 nW/cm²/sr, 44% lit
2026 so far (10 months, from the monthly figures): brightness 5.6 nW/cm²/sr, 54% lit. NASA’s yearly figure for 2026 comes early next year.
Every year since 2012
Show the numbers
| When or what | Figure |
|---|---|
| 2012 | brightness 5.0 nW/cm²/sr, 44% lit |
| 2013 | brightness 5.1 nW/cm²/sr, 44% lit |
| 2014 | brightness 5.1 nW/cm²/sr, 45% lit |
| 2015 | brightness 5.3 nW/cm²/sr, 47% lit |
| 2016 | brightness 5.1 nW/cm²/sr, 45% lit |
| 2017 | brightness 5.0 nW/cm²/sr, 45% lit |
| 2018 | brightness 5.1 nW/cm²/sr, 45% lit |
| 2019 | brightness 5.2 nW/cm²/sr, 46% lit |
| 2020 | brightness 4.9 nW/cm²/sr, 46% lit |
| 2021 | brightness 5.1 nW/cm²/sr, 48% lit |
| 2022 | brightness 4.9 nW/cm²/sr, 50% lit |
| 2023 | brightness 4.5 nW/cm²/sr, 51% lit |
| 2024 | brightness 4.6 nW/cm²/sr, 51% lit |
| 2025 | brightness 4.9 nW/cm²/sr, 51% 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 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 6.3 | 5.9 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 6.1 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 6.1 | ||
| 2025 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 5.8 | 5.1 |
| 2024 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 5.0 |
| 2023 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.8 |
| 2022 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 5.6 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.5 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 4.7 |
| 2021 | 4.6 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 4.8 |
| 2020 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 5.1 |
| 2019 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.0 | 5.8 |
| 2018 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 4.7 |
| 2017 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 4.9 | 5.2 | 4.4 |
| 2016 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 4.7 |
| 2015 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.1 |
| 2014 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 5.4 |
| 2013 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.7 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 4.8 |
| 2012 | 5.2 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.9 |
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 | 4.9 | 51% | 24% | 0% |
| 2024 | 4.6 | 51% | 23% | 0% |
| 2023 | 4.5 | 51% | 23% | 0% |
| 2022 | 4.9 | 50% | 23% | 0% |
| 2021 | 5.1 | 48% | 23% | 0% |
| 2020 | 4.9 | 46% | 23% | 0% |
| 2019 | 5.2 | 46% | 23% | 0% |
| 2018 | 5.1 | 45% | 22% | 0% |
| 2017 | 5.0 | 45% | 22% | 0% |
| 2016 | 5.1 | 45% | 22% | 0% |
| 2015 | 5.3 | 47% | 23% | 0% |
| 2014 | 5.1 | 45% | 22% | 0% |
| 2013 | 5.1 | 44% | 21% | 0% |
| 2012 | 5.0 | 44% | 21% | 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 107 wards, 2025by ward number
- Ward 119.7, 100% lit
- Ward 219.1, 100% lit
- Ward 323.2, 100% lit
- Ward 412.9, 100% lit
- Ward 526.1, 100% lit
- Ward 629.5, 100% lit
- Ward 76.3, 100% lit
- Ward 810.4, 100% lit
- Ward 919.7, 100% lit
- Ward 1020.4, 100% lit
- Ward 1119.3, 100% lit
- Ward 1220.2, 100% lit
- Ward 136.0, 100% lit
- Ward 149.1, 100% lit
- Ward 159.7, 100% lit
- Ward 1626.8, 100% lit
- Ward 1729.9, 100% lit
- Ward 1829.0, 100% lit
- Ward 1914.5, 100% lit
- Ward 2012.3, 100% lit
- Ward 2125.5, 100% lit
- Ward 2214.4, 100% lit
- Ward 2312.9, 100% lit
- Ward 244.3, 87% lit
- Ward 254.4, 100% lit
- Ward 2617.9, 100% lit
- Ward 2718.1, 100% lit
- Ward 2826.0, 100% lit
- Ward 2922.3, 100% lit
- Ward 3012.4, 100% lit
- Ward 314.7, 100% lit
- Ward 3213.8, 100% lit
- Ward 3315.3, 100% lit
- Ward 3422.7, 100% lit
- Ward 3516.0, 100% lit
- Ward 3621.9, 100% lit
- Ward 3725.0, 100% lit
- Ward 3855.2, 100% lit
- Ward 3920.9, 100% lit
- Ward 4019.3, 100% lit
- Ward 4121.8, 100% lit
- Ward 4225.1, 100% lit
- Ward 4330.3, 100% lit
- Ward 4421.4, 100% lit
- Ward 4517.3, 100% lit
- Ward 4623.0, 100% lit
- Ward 4718.5, 100% lit
- Ward 484.9, 80% lit
- Ward 493.8, 74% lit
- Ward 5018.1, 100% lit
- Ward 5113.1, 100% lit
- Ward 5215.4, 100% lit
- Ward 5326.3, 100% lit
- Ward 5417.2, 100% lit
- Ward 556.5, 100% lit
- Ward 5637.1, 100% lit
- Ward 5724.1, 100% lit
- Ward 5836.5, 100% lit
- Ward 5913.0, 100% lit
- Ward 6017.7, 100% lit
- Ward 616.2, 100% lit
- Ward 6222.8, 100% lit
- Ward 6326.7, 100% lit
- Ward 6425.1, 100% lit
- Ward 6522.1, 100% lit
- Ward 6613.4, 100% lit
- Ward 6715.0, 100% lit
- Ward 6824.3, 100% lit
- Ward 6921.9, 100% lit
- Ward 7012.8, 100% lit
- Ward 7114.0, 100% lit
- Ward 7219.0, 100% lit
- Ward 733.9, 56% lit
- Ward 7420.8, 100% lit
- Ward 7522.1, 100% lit
- Ward 765.0, 85% lit
- Ward 7719.7, 100% lit
- Ward 7840.7, 100% lit
- Ward 7922.0, 100% lit
- Ward 8038.9, 100% lit
- Ward 8164.8, 100% lit
- Ward 8228.0, 100% lit
- Ward 8324.5, 100% lit
- Ward 8418.7, 100% lit
- Ward 8521.4, 100% lit
- Ward 8620.0, 100% lit
- Ward 875.9, 92% lit
- Ward 8818.9, 100% lit
- Ward 8920.2, 100% lit
- Ward 9015.7, 100% lit
- Ward 914.6, 99% lit
- Ward 9236.4, 100% lit
- Ward 9316.3, 100% lit
- Ward 9418.0, 100% lit
- Ward 952.8, 100% lit
- Ward 964.9, 95% lit
- Ward 9719.3, 100% lit
- Ward 9817.2, 100% lit
- Ward 990.41, 7.8% lit
- Ward 1001.5, 39% lit
- Ward 1016.0, 100% lit
- Ward 1021.1, 26% lit
- Ward 1033.5, 60% lit
- Ward 1045.4, 79% lit
- Ward 1050.55, 11% lit
- Ward 10613.7, 100% lit
- Ward 1076.2, 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 Tshwane
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.