Data Vis Dispatch, July 14: FIFA World Cup, heat in Europe, and Middle East alliances | Datawrapper Blog
The best of last week’s big and small data visualizationsWelcome back to the 253rd edition of Data Vis Dispatch!Every week, we’re publishing a collection of the best small and large data visualizations we. . .
The best of last week’s big and small data visualizationsWelcome back to the 253rd edition of Data Vis Dispatch!Every week, we’re publishing a collection of the best small and large data visualizations we find, especially from news organizations — to celebrate data journalism, data visualization, simple charts, elaborate maps, and their creators. Recurring topics this week include the FIFA World Cup, the heat in Europe, and Middle East alliances. FIFA World CupHeat (in Europe)WildfiresEnergyUS politicsIranShips in AsiaAIMiscThe FIFA World Cup is still in full swing. (For those of you who really aren't interested: it's only five more days!) This week, people visualized the Europe-centeredness of football, where to aim if you find yourself in the (un?)fortunate position of taking a penalty kick, and how Airbnbs, not hotels, made the most money in US host cities. Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. Alexander Bogachev: "Every 2026 World Cup match as a 3D 'data portrait' — each built from ~1,500 events. Not to show stats. To capture the emotion," July 8 (X,website)The Economist:Where is the home of football?, July 10Ralph Spandl: "Preparing a new micro website with team stats of the#WorldCup2026. Preview - should be ready before we know who wins," July 10 (Bluesky)Reuters:Mbappé closes within one goal of World Cup scoring record as France reach semifinals, July 10Micah McCurdy: "I made viz from one million sims that shows the chances and the pathways for each team through the tournament [. . . ] Update after the quarterfinals," July 12, (Bluesky)YouGov:Do you think there should or should not be a bank holiday in England if the England team win the World Cup?, July 9The Wall Street Journal:Can You Save a Penalty Kick? Play Our Game to Find Out, July 7Datawrapper Blog:How to score goals, statistically, July 9Financial Times:Airbnb lures fans from US hotels after World Cup marketing push, July 12Speaking of Europe: it's been hot here. Reuters created a heatwave tracker just for the continent, and the Financial Times plotted the increase in tropical nights. Trees would help with the heat, but they're often missing – as are the air conditioners so common in the US. Reuters:Tracking Western Europe’s heatwave, July 10The Guardian:June heatwave killed up to 440 people a day in England and Wales, data suggests, July 13Giulia Mezzadri: "Silvia Romanelli and I created a data visualization exploring the 37 marine heatwaves recorded in the waters surrounding Italy between 2008 and 2025. The visualization transforms nearly two decades of sea surface temperature data into a visual timeline, revealing how these events have become more frequent and longer-lasting, and how they are not confined to the summer months. [. . . ]," July 8 (LinkedIn,Behance)El País:¿Cómo de extremo es este calor? Los datos de una anomalía histórica en Europa[Map title: Anomaly Forecast for Saturday, July 11; difference from the average in degrees Celsius], July 8Financial Times:Tropical nights come to Europe, July 11The European Correspondent:Concrete jungles, July 7Maps. com:Air Conditioning Is Ubiquitous in the US, July 13The Washington Post:Track how extreme this year’s El Niño could get, July 10There were quite a few charts aboutUS politicsthis week: how the Democrats hope to regain control of both the House and the Senate in the midterms this November, the Supreme Court, Trump's sons, and the drop in the number of people traveling to the US. The New York Times:Who Will Win the Midterms? 6 Pollsters and Pundits Make Educated Guesses, July 13The Washington Post:Democrats are growing bullish on retaking the Senate. Here are the races to watch, July 11USAFacts:The Supreme Court has had 116 justices. Here's who put them there, July 9The Wall Street Journal:Samuel Alito, a MAGA-Friendly Justice With a New Conservative Legal Vision, July 10The Washington Post:Trump’s sons invest heavily in defense tech as father’s administration pours money in, July 13Bloomberg:Trump’s $40 Billion Travel Slump, July 7"AI is coming," NBC News states. But is it coming for you and your skills? This week's charts tell you — and they explain how AI (and the tech behind it) works. Also, do these AI rebrands actually help companies make more money? The Financial Times takes a look. NBC News:The number of job titles that involve AI, even outside the tech world, is surging, July 8San Francisco Chronicle:How exposed is your job to AI? Look up your profession, July 10McKinsey:Human skills in the age of automation, July 9Financial Times:The century-old device choking the world’s AI push, July 9Neat animationsIBM:What does AI look like?, July 8Great explanationFinancial Times:How AI rebrands fail to deliver a lasting share price boost, July 11And in this week's"Other great visualizations we couldn't fit neatly in one of the other sections"section: aging and deaths in Hong Kong, academic freedom, female heads of state, baseball, and public transit in Switzerland. South China Morning Post:Ageing in Hong Kong, July 11South China Morning Post:Reasons behind the heavy toll, July 14Not-Ship:Uh . . . what's going on with academic freedom?, July 8Our World in Data: "Until the middle of the 20th century, few countries had political leaders that were women. These were monarchs, who rose to their positions because of their royal lineage," July 9 (Bluesky)The Philadelphia Inquirer:How Walker made Cardinals history and Phillies infamy, July 13Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. SRF:Von 0 auf 6488 in vier Stunden[How public transit wakes up each morning in Swiss cities], July 14What else we found interestingHelp us make this dispatch better! We’d love to hear which newsletters, blogs, or social media accounts we need to follow to learn about interesting projects, especially from less-covered parts of the world (Asia, South America, Africa). Write us athello@datawrapper. deor leave a comment below. Want the Dispatch in your inbox every Tuesday?Sign up for our Blog Update newsletter!