Channel 4 to Look Back on the Major Events of the Year in 2022: The Year From Space

24 November 2022

Atlantic Productions have been commissioned by Channel 4 to produce 2022: The Year from Space, a 90-minute documentary that will look back at 2022 via amazing satellite imagery from space. Narrated by David Harewood, the programme will showcase major events and changes that have happened on earth over the last 12 months.

Satellites can now film every corner of earth in incredible detail, spotting phenomena impossible to capture from here on earth.  With over 5,500 satellites in space and a 1,000 of those monitoring the planet, filming from space offers a unique and thrilling perspective, of everything from volcanoes exploding in remote ocean locations to huge storms thousands of miles across.  

However, in 2022 it was often human activity that made the biggest impact, led by events in Ukraine. From early warnings given by satellite images showing the build-up of Russian forces, to the tracking of refugees fleeing the country, the revelation of mass graves and the Ukrainian counterattack, this is the part of the story of 2022 that will not, and should not, be forgotten. 

2022: The Year from Space will show some of Mother Nature’s greatest impacts from lakes drying up, rivers vanishing and the landscape turning brown as the summer heatwave took grip over Europe to terrifying satellite imagery of wildfires breaking out across American and Europe as well as the beautiful Aurora Borealis looking stunning from space.

The images sent back from the satellites not only catalogue changes happening on earth but also make discoveries, including previously unknown colonies of penguins spotted from space – because of the brown guano stains left on the pristine Antarctic ice sheets – and showcase epic images of herring breeding season in British Columbia which are so vast their spawn can be seen as huge white patterns in the ocean.

This visually spectacular film will offer a unique view of the ways in which humans make an impact on the planet, including huge crowds returning to St Peter’s Square in Rome and The Hajj for the first time since Covid or the vast festivals that pop up and take shape, with fields becoming a temporary city when Glastonbury returns, and amazing shots of Burning Man being created in the Arizona desert.

2022: The Year from Space was commissioned by Jonah Weston, Channel 4 commissioning editor Science and Adventure. The 1x90’ documentary will be made by Atlantic productions with executive producers Anthony Geffen and Nick Catliff.

Jonah Weston said: “2022 has been a year like no other, and I’m thrilled that we’re offering audiences a unique perspective on 12 months of human drama and natural wonder, filmed from thousands of miles above our beautiful, inspiring and sometimes troubled planet.”

Anthony Geffen, CEO Atlantic Productions, added: “Looking at the world from space gives us unique and often magical insights into the beauty and vulnerability of our planet. We have used imagery from the thousands of satellites that orbit the Earth to reveal the hidden truths behind the big stories of 2022 whether they are about the activities of mankind or the awesome power of the natural world. These images allow us to understand our planet and ourselves in a whole new way.”

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For further information, please contact:

Samantha Fraser / Sfraser@channel4.co.uk