2023-08-22 13:45:45
In a new study, it has been verified how the great festivities of the different human societies modulate the patterns of light pollution on a global scale. Thus, Christian Christmas, Muslim Ramadan, Chinese New Year or Hindu Diwali cause the intensity of night lighting to vary depending on the celebration that is in progress.
The work reveals the close relationship between light pollution levels and the cultural activity of our society, effects that extend beyond urban areas.
The research is the work of scientists from the ICM (Institut de Ciències del Mar), the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN) and the Doñana Biological Station (EBD), all of these entities attached to the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), in Spain.
The transformation of the night landscape caused by artificial light, commonly known as light pollution, is an unmistakable mark of human activity on Earth, and has serious consequences for living organisms.
“Understanding how human activities influence light pollution is key to assessing its impact and designing possible mitigation measures,” contextualizes the CSIC researcher at the ICM Francisco Ramírez. “Previous work had related the economic development of countries with their patterns of light pollution, determining that, in general, it is the richest who pollute the most. However, this is the first time that it has been evaluated how certain socio-cultural activities affect light pollution on a global scale”, he adds.
Christmas lighting. (Photo: NPS/Kelsey Graczyk)
For the preparation of the work, the team analyzed satellite images that show the intensity of light between 2014 and 2019, which made it possible to obtain data on this type of pollution on a global scale. Subsequent analysis confirms that a peak of light pollution occurs during Christmas in Christian countries, while in Muslim and Hindu countries the annual peaks coincide with Ramadan and Diwali, respectively. In the case of China and Vietnam, the peak of light pollution coincides with the celebration of the new year.
“The results show that festivities and celebrations that involve large concentrations of people and the use of night lights affect the seasonal pattern of light intensity, which can have effects on a wide variety of species,” explains the CSIC researcher at the ICM Marta coll. “This is what happens with a wide variety of species that are attracted to artificial lights, often with fatal consequences,” she says.
For his part, the CSIC researcher at the MNCN Airam Rodríguez highlights that “the variations observed in the levels of polluting light coming from the celebrations could be greater, since the sensor with which the satellite images used in our study are taken are little sensitive to bluish light. However, it is precisely this type of light, that is, that emitted in the blue range, that is the most harmful to health and biodiversity.
“This work provides a solid foundation for developing planning and management measures to mitigate the effects of light pollution,” adds Andre Chiaradia of Phillip Island Nature Parks in Australia.
“The data obtained reveal the need to continuously monitor this type of pollution to understand its effect on the natural environment and to be able to develop global policies aimed at promoting the use of artificial lights that is compatible with the preservation of the natural world,” he concludes. Chiaradia.
The study is titled “Large-scale human celebrations increase global light pollution”. And it has been published in the academic journal People and Nature. (Source: ICM / CSIC)
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