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Kochi metropolitan fringe

Wetland and paddy giving way to building on the edge of Kochi.

216.0 hectares changed — vegetation cleared · Before: 1 Dec 2018 – 15 Mar 2019 · After: 1 Dec 2024 – 15 Mar 2025 · 9.970, 76.330

BEFORE 2019-03

AFTER 2025-03

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216.0 haarea changed

140areas flagged

6,416 haarea examined

2satellites used

What changed, by type

161.0 haVegetation cleared

27.3 haNew water / flooding

12.3 haNew construction / earthworks

12.0 haBurnt ground

2.8 haunclassified

0.6 haNew vegetation

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

Vegetation cleared — 14.6 ha
2.5 km west · between 18 Dec 2018 and 25 Jan 2025 · 89% sure

Vegetation cleared — 11.0 ha
4.2 km north-east · between 18 Dec 2018 and 6 Feb 2025 · 87% sure

Burnt ground — 10.0 ha
1.1 km south-west · between 18 Dec 2018 and 25 Jan 2025 · 93% sure

Vegetation cleared — 7.3 ha
2.2 km north-west · between 18 Dec 2018 and 25 Jan 2025 · 94% sure

Vegetation cleared — 5.2 ha
3.7 km west · between 18 Dec 2018 and 25 Jan 2025 · 92% sure

How sure is this?

The strongest area (#1) has 89% confidence. It appears in 5 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. Compared with the same season in earlier years, this is clearly unusual. Only 78% of the area had clear optical views, so some change may be hidden by cloud. 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 26 seconds.

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