A Greenhouse Boom in China

Greenhouses are having a moment—or rather, a few decades. According to a new analysis of satellite data published in Nature Food, greenhouses now cover more than 13,000 square kilometers (5,000 square miles) of land worldwide—an area nearly the size of Connecticut. Four decades ago, they covered just 300 square kilometers.The pair of Landsat images above highlights the rapid expansion of greenhouses in Weifang. The initial image, acquired by the TM (Thematic Mapper) on Landsat 5, shows Weifang in 1987; the next image, from the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8, shows the same area in 2024. Large expanses of once-open farmland are now covered by a sea of plastic. Many of the greenhouses have opaque or translucent plastics that appear white from a distance, while open farmland is generally brown or green. Towns appear slightly blue or pink due to the colors of roofs.Animation created from images originally published at https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/152874