Electricity Maps
The carbon intensity of the grid across most of the world, coloured by how clean each country's electricity happens to be at this minute.
Opens in a new tab. We do not control this site and it may have changed since we catalogued it.
How to get the most from it
Electricity Maps sits in Live Earth Maps under Wander, filed as instant.
- Just open it. It pays off within seconds, with nothing to read first.
- It works on a phone or a desktop, so open it on whatever is nearest.
- It works with the sound off, so it is fine on a train or in a quiet office.
- No account needed — you can start without signing up.
- Go in expecting something brainy, useful and beautiful.
About this category: Live data drawn on a map: storms, earthquakes, lightning, shipping, wildlife. Open one and the planet stops being an abstraction.
Good for
- A five-second distraction
- Giving your brain a workout
- Getting something practical done
- Looking at something lovely
- A quiet break at your desk
- Killing time on your phone
- Trying it with zero commitment
Electricity Maps: quick answers
Is Electricity Maps free?
Yes. Electricity Maps is free to use and needs no account.
Do I need an account to use Electricity Maps?
No. You can use Electricity Maps without signing up for anything.
Does Electricity Maps work on a phone?
Yes. Electricity Maps works on phones as well as desktop browsers.
Is Electricity Maps safe for work?
Yes, we file it as safe for work. It also works muted.
How long does Electricity Maps take?
We file it as "Instant": Good within five seconds of loading.
More in Live Earth Maps
All 14 in Live Earth MapsIndustrial fishing vessel tracks worldwide, rebuilt from satellite signals, showing exactly where the world's fleets have been working.
- 10 min
- Desktop
Satellite-derived tree cover loss for anywhere on Earth, week by week, with alerts you can zoom in on until you are looking at one hillside.
- 10 min
- Desktop
Every lightning strike detected worldwide appears within seconds of the flash, triangulated by a volunteer network of home-built receivers.
- <1 min
- Desktop
Active fire and thermal anomaly detections from NASA satellites, updated within hours of each pass and quietly sobering at continental zoom.
- <1 min
- Desktop
Same mood: brainy
All brainy sitesEvery emoji with its meaning, its history and how it renders on each platform. Settles arguments in one link.
- 10 min
The professional encyclopedia, still going, and a useful second opinion whenever Wikipedia gets contested.
- 10 min
A scatterplot of six thousand music genres you have never heard of, each one clickable for a sample and a list of its bands.
- 1 hr+
- Sound on
- Desktop
All 2^122 version-four UUIDs listed in order with a working search box, on a page that should not be able to exist.
Keep exploring
Category
Have a site of your own? Suggest it for Detour or browse the AltFTool backlinks hub.