This weeks tools are sunearthtools.com (for calculating sun position, latitude/longitude coordinates, photovoltaic systems, and emissions) and movebank.org/cms/webapp (for animal migration route data). Find more tools updated daily at josepablorobles.com/tools.html

This week’s featured tools are actually four, because why not? They’re all part of my recent post on immersive visual journalism. Take a look: pablorobles.substack.com/p/immersive-...

Immersive Visual Journalism

Immersive visual journalism relies on two core approaches: leveraging on-the-ground presence to uncover unique local insights, and using creative technology and expert networks when physical access is...

pablorobles.substack.com

This week’s featured tool is Google Flood Hub sites.research.google/floods, which offers real-time global flood forecasting. I also published a new visuap story on how Russia’s war in Ukraine is hitting supermarket price nytimes.com/interactive/…/russia-supermarket-prices-ukraine… Until next week!

Tools of this week: Datahub Collections (clean datasets) datahub.io/collections and BlenderGIS (3D terrain map creation) blendergis.com#features. Also a new newsletter issue is up! pablorobles.substack.com/p/fast-turna...

This week, I made a map for an amazing story about China launching a new shipping route along the Arctic to reach Europe. To build it, I used the GlobeBuilder QGIS plugin, which easily creates a world from space 3D globe. github.com/osgeosuomi/G...

Recently, a fire broke out at a miles-long landfill near Jakarta, the world’s most populous city, sending toxins into the air. The pollutants included tiny pieces of plastic that could be inhaled by humans.

The Microplastics Epidemic in Indonesia

Tiny fragments of plastic are in the air, land and water in the country, where the burning of trash is common.

nyti.ms

Latest: Trash fires in Jakarta break down waste into airborne micro-particles that settle directly into surrounding communities and food supplies, creating a dangerous, cyclical problem. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

The Microplastics Epidemic in Indonesia

Tiny fragments of plastic are in the air, land and water in the country, where the burning of trash is common.

nytimes.com

You can use this UN-approved Equal Earth projection right now in #rstats #gis #databs

CNN@cnn.com · last mo.

The United Nations General Assembly voted to adopt a new world map that reflects countries’ true relative sizes, after African nations urged the UN to right a centuries-old wrong.

Here is the tool for this week: www.ezesri.com Paste any ArcGIS feature layer or map server URL to view metadata, handle pagination automatically, apply filters, and export to GeoJSON, CSV, or Shapefile with no code or installation needed. More tools here: josepablorobles.com/tools.html

ezesri - Extract GeoJSON from ArcGIS REST Services

Extract GeoJSON from any ArcGIS FeatureServer or MapServer. View metadata, apply filters and download data. No installation required.

ezesri.com

We walk you through the path of destruction from the Nepal flooding, where the preliminary damage is. Related to this coverage, our Tool/Dataset of the Week is the World Glacier Inventory wgms.ch/data_databas... More tools here josepablorobles.com/tools.html www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Nepal-Tibet Flood: See the Scale of the Destruction

Satellite images show widespread destruction along more than 50 miles of Himalayan valleys where a torrent of mud swept away villages on Wednesday.

nytimes.com

I’m sharing one tool every week from my list, now at 202 tools published out of 1,500+ I’m reviewing! extract.bbbike.org a handy utility that exports custom OpenStreetMap map data into formats like GeoJSON, Shapefile, or MBTiles. Updated daily by me, not AI. josepablorobles.com/tools.html

Tools & Resources — Pablo Robles

Curated tools and resources for visual journalism, data visualization, design, and cartography.

josepablorobles.com

Wildfires have devastated parts of Europe this past week, particularly in France and Spain, where more than 330,000 people have been evacuated. With temperatures expected to rise again, the risk of further damage remains. Learn to track active fires with open sources: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmnf...

Monitoring Wildfires Using Open Source Tools

YouTube video by Bellingcat

youtube.com

What began in India as a student protest over a cancelled college entrance exam in May has grown into a wider campaign against corruption, poor job prospects and mismanagement of the education system. Here’s how it has unfolded.

Timeline: How a College Test Scandal Grew Into a Youth Movement in India

What began with an exam leak scandal in May has grown into a much wider campaign over government accountability. Here’s how the youth-led movement unfolded.

nyti.ms

BREAKING: U.S. to Withdraw Subpoenas Issued to New York Times Journalists A federal judge raised questions about the government’s handling of the subpoenas, which The Times said were an attempt to intimidate the free press. (Yes, I can say, I am glad to hear this) www.nytimes.com/2026/07/23/b...

U.S. to Withdraw Subpoenas Issued to New York Times Journalists (Gift Article)

A federal judge raised questions about the government’s handling of the subpoenas, which The Times said were an attempt to intimidate the free press.

nytimes.com

Spent months of weekends on this, but finally got everything in one place: new website + tools directory. Still have about 1,400 tools left to add descriptions and categories to, plus so many photos to prepare, but it’s live! josepablorobles.com

This is beautifully illustrated: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Dive Into a Very Noisy Sea With Some Very Rare Whales

Fewer than 100 Rice’s whales remain on Earth. Researchers say sonic blasts from oil exploration are a top threat to the species. See and hear why.

nytimes.com

Great visual explainer by Agnes Chang and @pablorobles.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

The Long Journey From the Strait of Hormuz to the Gas Tank

Even if the Strait of Hormuz reopened today, oil would still take more than a month to reach consumers. The economic shock from the Iran war could take far longer to ease.

nytimes.com

I recently spoke with students at Yonsei University, one of South Korea’s top three universities, about modern journalism: wearing many hats shaped by different types of data. How you look at evidence changes how you tell it. open.substack.com/pub/pablorob...

New Types of Databases

Finding data in the places our sector often forgets to look.

open.substack.com

New investigation from @trbrtc.bsky.social and @johnismay.bsky.social on an American PrSM (missile) being used against an Iranian sports hall and school. These missiles were filmed being fired from a HIMARS in Bahrain weeks ago. Gift Link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/29/w...

New U.S. Missile Hit Iranian Sports Hall and School, Analysis Shows

nytimes.com

How the Iran War Has Rippled Across the World. An illustrated story by @pablorobles.bsky.social and Agnes Chang. 🎁 Gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

NEW via @nytimes.com's @pablorobles.bsky.social & Agnes Chang: "How the #Iran War Has Rippled Across the World" www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

How the Iran War Has Rippled Across the World

Deflated balloons? Pricier sugar? The fighting in the Middle East has played out across the world in sometimes surprising ways.

nytimes.com

I made some illustrations for a project about how the Iran War has affected the world in surprising ways, from deflated balloons to higher sugar prices. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

How the Iran War Has Rippled Across the World

Deflated balloons? Pricier sugar? The fighting in the Middle East has played out across the world in sometimes surprising ways.

nytimes.com

Blackouts are getting worse in Cuba, some days the entire island is plunged into near total darkness. Here's the story tinyurl.com/47srb7ff by my colleagues @pablorobles.bsky.social @wallacetim.bsky.social and Simon Romero | gift link 🎁

Blackouts are getting worse in Cuba. On some days, the entire island is plunged into near total darkness. The electricity crisis has laid bare the risks of depending so heavily on foreign oil while trying to maintain a centrally planned socialist economic system.

Mapping Cuba’s Blackouts

Cuba is facing a historic electricity crisis. Blackouts have gotten worse, and on some days the entire island is plunged into near total darkness.

nyti.ms

Most of my work this year was just trying to make sense of the mess behind the scenes. I’m sharing the ‘ugly’ process and the detective work behind my latest projects. See you next year and happy holidays! open.substack.com/pub/pablorob...

A year-end update

12 months of visual reporting, behind the scenes, dozens of folders, and new home.

open.substack.com

Amazing story by Jeffrey Gettleman, Hari Kumar, Agnes Chang, and @pablorobles.bsky.social is presented as a special section in today's print edition of the NYT. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

How Did the C.I.A. Lose a Nuclear Device in the Himalayas?

A plutonium-packed generator disappeared on one of the world’s highest mountains in a covert mission that the U.S. will not talk about.

nytimes.com

Early signs suggest that Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades was the result of negligence, poor decisions and circumstance. Here is how the design of the buildings and the construction materials used may have contributed to its spread. nyti.ms/4pkOQVV

I’ve spent years collecting tools, datasets, maps, and other interesting links I’ve come across through my work and passion. I’m organizing everything into one place: If you’d like to get it when it’s out, you can subscribe here: pablorobles.substack.com/about

This weekend we published a project on the devastating impact of malnutrition on children’s bodies in Gaza. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

What Malnutrition Does to Children’s Bodies www.nytimes.com/interactive/...