International Dark Sky Week 2021 began on 5 April and runs through to 12 April in a bid to raise awareness of light pollution and its negative effects on our planet.
Light pollution is the excessive or inappropriate use of artificial light including glare, sky glow, clutter, and light trespass, and is one of the main impacts of industrialisation.
International Dark Sky Week is held when the sky is at its darkest and the stars are therefore most visible to the viewer.
For one week, people across the globe are encouraged to switch off all outdoor lights and appliances to reduce light population.
“It may seem harmless,” said the International Dark-Sky Association, “but light pollution has far-reaching consequences that are harmful to all living things.”
“Light pollution has a detrimental impact upon our planet”
This annual event was created by then-high school student, Jennifer Barlow, in 2003, and has since been a huge success.
According to the International Dark-Sky Association, 83% of our global population live beneath a light-polluted sky, a number that is rapidly increasing at two times the rate of our population growth.
Light pollution has a detrimental impact upon our planet and causes environmental imbalances including:
- Disruption of our ecosystem and wildlife
- Effecting crime and safety
- Increasing energy consumption
- Harming human health
Research scientist, Christopher Kyba, said: “Predators use light to hunt, and prey species use darkness to cover. Near cities, cloudy skies are now hundreds, or even thousands, of times brighter than they were 200 years ago. We are only beginning to learn what a drastic effect this has had on nocturnal ecology.”
According to the World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness, 99% of people in the US and Europe do not have access to natural light – a problem world leaders have begun to assess.
For more information or to find ways you can help, follow these links below:
Madeleine Raine
Featured image courtesy of Felix Mittermeier via Unsplash. This image has in no way been altered. Image license is available here.