This month marks the 20th anniversary of Google Earth, the interactive digital globe renowned for its breathtaking 3D flyovers and expansive satellite views. Google is introducing new features targeted at both regular users and experts in honor of 20 years of assisting people in discovering the world, from their childhood street to the summit of Mount Everest.

Google Earth has served as an emotional time capsule, a geography teacher, and a visual storytelling tool since its 2005 launch. According to Google, people used Google Earth to look up locations more than 2 billion times in the past year, demonstrating that even after 20 years, the virtual twin of Earth still appears to have a lot to offer. My sister recently took a birthday trip to the Napa Valley, and I love using Google Earth to mimic their trip. If I can’t travel in person and enjoy amazing wine, I might as well “go” virtually and take in the breathtaking scenery.

Yael Maguire, general manager of Google Maps Platform and Google Earth, stated in the blog post published Tuesday that “people have used it to build more resilient cities, stronger communities, and a healthier planet” over the previous 20 years.

I’ll outline the upcoming features for Google Earth below, as well as look back at some of the platform’s major achievements since 2005.

Google Earth will soon have two new features.

Historical Street View imagery in Google Earth is one of the most comprehensive updates to arrive. People will be able to go back in time and observe how locations have changed over time thanks to this feature. For example, you can view a skyline prior to a building boom or a city block prior to gentrification.

The popular hashtag #somewhereonGoogleMaps, where users have shared emotionally stirring discoveries, like identifying long-dead relatives or childhood homes in older Street View imagery, served as inspiration for the feature. (I personally adore this feature because it allows me to search for my mom’s childhood home in Virginia and show her and my aunt the pictures.)

This feature was previously available in Google Maps, but the switch to Google Earth makes it more accessible and immersive.

AI-powered city planning and climate tools

Google Earth is introducing new tools for professionals, like city planners, in addition to personal nostalgia. AI-driven insights about the planet’s surface, beginning with land surface temperature and urban tree canopy coverage, will be made available to US-based users in the upcoming weeks.

For instance, residents of Austin, Texas, can view a map that indicates the areas with the highest tree cover or potential locations for urban heat islands. The goal is to assist researchers, local governments, and urban planners in making better decisions regarding infrastructure investment, public health, and other topics. Additionally, this can assist locals in making better-informed choices about where to build or relocate within a city.

The Earth Engine platform, which has already been used to track deforestation, track water use, and plan solar installations, is expanded upon by these insights.

San Francisco in three dimensions
The advent of 3D imagery was one of Google Earth’s significant turning points, enabling users to view cities like San Francisco like never before.
Google Earth
A retrospective of Earth exploration spanning two decades
Google also released a retrospective of some of its most treasured moments over the previous 20 years to commemorate the event. Highlights consist of:

the introduction of Street View in 2006, which gave virtual maps access to actual ground-level imagery.
the advent of 3D buildings, which allow you to fly through urban landscapes like a virtual pilot.
partnerships with scientists and nonprofit organizations to monitor climate change and map the habitats of endangered species. For example, in 2010, researchers discovered a whole new hominid species by using Google Earth to locate caves and fossil sites in satellite imagery.
With 24 million satellite photos taken over 35 years, Google Earth Timelapse was updated in 2017 to provide a thorough overview of the planet’s shifting surface. It is currently accessible as an interactive 4D experience.
With AI advancements and an expanding collection of data and imagery, Google Earth claims to see even more potential in the future.