The Johns Hopkins University coronavirus dashboard which tracks COVID-19 around the world has been receiving over a billion hits per day.  Are you one of those hits – or have you been looking at the World Health Organisation map?

Both of these trackers are well-designed and interesting sources of information, but it can be disheartening to focus on COVID-19 all day.  Here are some other interactive maps you can use to travel the world virtually.

If you want to learn more about global weather patterns, this simulation tracks and animates wind, rain and temperature conditions around the world – among other things.  It can be fascinating to watch storms move over the course of a few hours.

Looking locally: the South Australian Government has a map that overlays a huge amount of local data – everything from soil types to shipwrecks.  There might be information here that’s useful for your Science as a Human Endeavour studies.

While it’s tricky to fly anywhere at the moment, you can still track the fastest route between any two airports in the world by using this great circle map – and you can learn a bit of geometry while you’re at it.

How does information flow across the world?  Via submarine cables used for high-speed internet. Check out the network here.

This map tracks cyber threats around the globe in real time – it’s worth looking at if you’re  interested in cybersecurity.

If these maps are particularly interesting for you, you might want to check out our degrees in Applied Geographical Information Systems or Network and Cybersecurity Systems.