Data Vis Dispatch, August 24

For the second week in a row, Afghanistan was the biggest story in data vis. The entire country is now effectively under Taliban control:

Both Afghans and foreign nationals rushed to leave the country by air:

And we looked back at what the past 20 years have actually changed:

But just because the pandemic hasn't taken our top spot in recent weeks, don't be fooled — COVID is roaring back:

In some countries, the newest wave may be helped along by waning vaccine efficacy:

And we're still far from a pre-pandemic economic normalcy:

With no end in sight, it's not hard to understand the ongoing interest in investigating the origins of the virus:

But enough about the news for now! Let's talk about data vis. Between war, census, and natural disaster, last week was all map all the time:

This week, meanwhile, it was simple charts' time to shine:

But simple charts can still surprise you with a twist. How about a draw-your-guess interactive element, a "moving" bar to show policy changes, a tiny chart in line with the text, or an Arabic x-axis where time moves from right to left?

And last but never least... it's hot out here. And dry. And the dry stuff is burning. And it's about to get a lot hotter.