In the first of a new series of maps by Worldmapper, we present the planet as you've never seen it before
The map above may look strange, but that's because each country has been resized to reflect the amount of greenhouse gas emissions it is responsible for.
Greenhouse gases trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing it to warm up. The territories that emit the most greenhouse gases are the US, China, the Russian Federation and Japan. However, the most emissions per person are in Qatar: equivalent to 86 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Qatar has significant oil and gas reserves, and in 2002 was populated by 600,000 people.
The greenhouse gases shown here are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. These gases account for 98 per cent of the greenhouse effect. (Other greenhouse gases, not shown here, are various fluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride.)
The country sizes are based on estimates from Worldmapper. To find out how they worked out these figures, check out their technical notes.
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