Atlas › Ethiopia › Urban growth

Addis Ababa southern edge

Farmland turning into condominium blocks.

2,126.6 hectares changed — new vegetation · Before: 1 Oct 2017 – 31 Jan 2018 · After: 1 Oct 2023 – 31 Jan 2024 · 8.920, 38.720

BEFORE 2018-01

AFTER 2024-01

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2,126.6 haarea changed

244areas flagged

6,416 haarea examined

2satellites used

What changed, by type

2,113.6 haNew vegetation

5.9 haBurnt ground

4.0 haVegetation cleared

3.1 haNew construction / earthworks

Land changes in both directions at once. SCOPE reports every type it measured, not only the one that makes the better headline.

What SCOPE found

New vegetation — 64.8 ha
3.6 km east · between 29 Jan 2018 and 5 Oct 2023 · 86% sure

New vegetation — 24.2 ha
2.1 km north-east · between 29 Jan 2018 and 5 Oct 2023 · 82% sure

New vegetation — 15.9 ha
4.3 km north-west · between 29 Jan 2018 and 5 Oct 2023 · 78% sure

New vegetation — 13.3 ha
3.6 km north-west · between 29 Jan 2018 and 5 Oct 2023 · 78% sure

New vegetation — 11.9 ha
3.6 km east · between 29 Jan 2018 and 5 Oct 2023 · 86% sure

How sure is this?

The strongest area (#1) has 86% confidence. It appears in 6 of 6 later clear images, so it is not a one-day artefact. Radar confirmed some of these areas; the others rest on optical and seasonal evidence. Note: One optical window has a single clear acquisition; persistence checks are weaker. Confidence measures how strong the evidence for real surface change is; it does not identify the cause or who did it.

How it was measured

SCOPE used Sentinel-2 optical imagery at 10 m, cloud-masked and combined over each period, Sentinel-1 radar as an independent check , and the same season in earlier years so normal seasonal change is not reported as real change. The analysis took 19 seconds.

Now try it on a place you know

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