Google Doodle shows how climate change has already affected the planet

To commemorate Earth Day, Google’s latest Doodle uses 20 years of images to show how climate change is affecting the planet — it’s not a pretty picture.

“Using real time-lapse imagery from Google Earth Timelapse and other sources, the Doodle shows the impact of climate change across four different locales around our planet. Stay tuned throughout the day to view these scenes, each remaining on the homepage for several hours at a time,” according to an official statement from the company.

To view the looping time-lapses, go to Google.com or click on the company logo on any of its other pages. Real imagery from Google Earth and the U.S. Geological Survey is used to show decades of melting snow, deforestation and coral bleaching in four different locations.

Scenes include the disappearing Furtwangler Glacier near Mount Kilimanjaro’s summit; coral bleaching across the Great Barrier Reef’s Lizard Island; drought impacts on the Harz Forests in Germany; and melting sea ice and ice sheets in Greenland.

“Acting now and together to live more sustainably is necessary to avoid the worst effects of climate change,” the Earth Day team wrote about the Doodle. Search “climate change” to learn more about its causes and effects, as well as what you can do to help stop it.