A new atlas of Earth seen from space, released by the United Nations Environment Program on Saturday, shows the devastating impact of urbanization on the planet. It pairs satellite images taken more than 20 years ago with up-to-date images of the same regions.

In these two photos, from the "One Planet Many People" atlas, the dark mass showing the populated area of Las Vegas, Nevada, 27 years ago, below left, is dramatically bigger in the recent image, below right.