Bloomberg satellite analysis
Bloomberg's NASA Black Marble and Sentinel-2 imagery analysis confirming Cuba's nighttime light fell by up to 50 per cent.
Last refreshed: 18 May 2026
Does satellite imagery support Cuba's official blackout figures?
Timeline for Bloomberg satellite analysis
- Did Bloomberg track Cuba's blackouts by satellite?
- Yes. Bloomberg's analysis using NASA Black Marble and ESA Sentinel-2 imagery found Cuban nighttime light fell by up to 50 per cent across the island in May 2026, with Santiago de Cuba and Holguín worst affected.Source: Bloomberg
- How does NASA Black Marble work?
- NASA's Black Marble is a calibrated nighttime-lights data product derived from the VIIRS Day-Night Band aboard the JPSS satellite series. It compares nighttime radiance values across rolling baselines to detect changes in electricity availability.Source: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Background
Bloomberg's satellite analysis on Cuba combines NASA's Black Marble nighttime-lights data product (derived from the VIIRS Day-Night Band aboard the JPSS satellite series) with European Space Agency Sentinel-2 optical imagery. The methodology compares nighttime radiance values across rolling baselines to detect changes in electricity availability, then cross-references those changes against known events like thermoelectric plant outages.
Bloomberg's published analysis in May 2026 found Cuban nighttime light fell by up to 50 per cent across the island, with Santiago de Cuba and Holguín worst affected, providing the visual macro-confirmation of the SEN's microsystem fragmentation. The analysis ties the satellite drop to the 14 May SEN partial disconnection and the Antonio Guiteras 9th outage of 2026.
Satellite night-light analysis is treated by Lowdown as a primary verification source under the double-source rule. It corroborates UNE's Nota Informativa accounts and Cubadebate primary statements, and exposes any gap between official blackout figures and observable reality. The Bloomberg analysis specifically corroborated Cuba's eastern provinces operating under sustained electrical isolation rather than transient outage. Methodology limitations include cloud cover, moonlight interference, and the resolution floor of the VIIRS Day-Night Band, which obscures household-level granularity.