diff --git a/explorer/ExplorerProgram.ts b/explorer/ExplorerProgram.ts
index 5d82ce4f2b..ca66ac971d 100644
--- a/explorer/ExplorerProgram.ts
+++ b/explorer/ExplorerProgram.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import {
     trimObject,
     mergeGrapherConfigs,
     merge,
+    isEmpty,
 } from "@ourworldindata/utils"
 import {
     CellDef,
@@ -409,6 +410,12 @@ export class ExplorerProgram extends GridProgram {
             ]
         }
 
+        // TODO: remove after mapTargetTime=0 has been removed from configs
+        if (mergedConfig.map.time === 0) {
+            delete mergedConfig.map.time
+            if (isEmpty(mergedConfig.map)) delete mergedConfig.map
+        }
+
         return mergedConfig
     }