Your Imagery Work Break – 2021 Hajj Pilgrimage

We love maps.

We love imagery.

We love work breaks.

We hope you like them as well!

As July settles in here in the USA, summer is definitely upon us! And in honor of this sweaty season, we declare that it’s time for a work break! But before you head outside to get some fresh air, check out this 50-centimeter Pléiades 1 satellite imagery collected over Masjid al Haram (or the Grand Mosque) in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on July 22, 2021 at 11:01 AM local time. What makes this day and location special is that it is the last day of the 2021 Hajj pilgrimage which typically draws millions of visitors each year–making it one of the largest annual migrations of humans. However you can see that the crowds were significantly smaller in this COVID-impacted Hajj; and as a comparison, check out other images of the Hajj we have featured in past years, including 2012, 2016, 2018 and 2019.

Have a great rest of your workday! ☺

(Image Courtesy: Airbus. Processed by Apollo Mapping for improved color accuracy and clarity.)