Light pollution is a serious problem that negatively impacts our lives. See where this pollution is most severe on the map.
Light pollution is the result of excessive nighttime lighting caused by artificial light sources. This effect is most noticeable in large, developed cities, where dense street lighting and bright building illuminations are common.
The negative effects of this pollution include adverse effects on human health, impacts on the flowering and winter dormancy periods of plants, and physiological functions of animals.
Lightpollutionmap.app is a website where you can track the intensity of light pollution worldwide. This level is reported using the Bortle scale, which is used to assess the quality of the night sky during astronomical observations. Values range from 1 (complete darkness) to 9 (city centers).
The characteristics of this phenomenon mean that the data displayed on the map are not particularly surprising. Light pollution is most severe around large urban centers and metropolitan areas, such as the Ruhr Area, New York or Tokyo.
The presented visualization can be used as a useful tool for planning sky observations. Additionally, the developers are working on implementing a map containing data on the occurrence of auroras.
