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takyon writes:

Light pollution is getting worse across much of the globe, with the exception of countries like Yemen and Syria:

A study of pictures of Earth by night has revealed that artificial light is growing brighter and more extensive every year. Between 2012 and 2016, the planet's artificially lit outdoor area grew by more than 2% per year. Scientists say a "loss of night" in many countries is having negative consequences for "flora, fauna, and human well-being".

A team published the findings in the journal Science Advances. Their study used data from a Nasa satellite radiometer - a device designed specifically to measure the brightness of night-time light. It showed that changes in brightness over time varied greatly by country. Some of the world's "brightest nations", such as the US and Spain, remained the same. Most nations in South America, Africa and Asia grew brighter. [...]

• In 2016, the American Medical Association officially recognised the "detrimental effects of poorly designed, high-intensity LED lighting", saying it encouraged communities to "minimise and control blue-rich environmental lighting by using the lowest emission of blue light possible to reduce glare. The sleep-inducing hormone melatonin is particularly sensitive to blue light.
• A recent study published in the journal Nature [DOI: 10.1038/nature23288] [DX] revealed that artificial light was a threat to crop pollination - reducing the pollinating activity of nocturnal insects.
• Research in the UK revealed that trees in more brightly lit areas burst their buds up to a week earlier [open, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.0813] [DX] than those in areas without artificial lighting.
• A study published earlier this year found that urban light installations "dramatically altered" the behaviour of nocturnally migrating birds.

Lead researcher Christopher Kyba from the German Research Centre for Geoscience in Potsdam said that the introduction of artificial light was "one of the most dramatic physical changes human beings have made to our environment".

Also at Sky & Telescope, NPR, and EurekAlert.

Artificially lit surface of Earth at night increasing in radiance and extent (open, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1701528) (DX)

Previously: Bring on the Night, say National Park Visitors in New Study
Light Pollution Prevents 80% of North Americans From Seeing the Milky Way
Study Shows That Artificial Lights Deter Nocturnal Pollinators

Original Submission