Light pollution...a global threat to living organisms
Arabia Weather - According to a study conducted by scientists from the United States and Germany between 2011 and 2022, and published in the magazine “Science” at the beginning of this year, it is clear that the sky becomes brighter at night by an estimated 10 percent every year , and this development leads to the disappearance of the beauty of the views. Natural night time, this lighting results in what is called light pollution. So what is light pollution and what are its consequences on living organisms?
Light pollution
Light pollution is the presence of excessive amounts of artificial lighting in the night environment. This often occurs in cities, especially in developed and developing countries, and the areas most affected by light pollution can easily be identified. The United States and Europe, as well as India, eastern parts of China, South Korea, Japan, and many other developed and developing countries, are experiencing excessive light pollution.
The main reason behind the increase in light pollution in these areas is the traditional street lighting infrastructure. Despite the importance of public lighting in cities to illuminate dark streets at night, it represents the largest source of light pollution.
Street lights often remain on throughout the night, even when they are not needed, resulting in light pollution and an increase in harmful carbon dioxide emissions; Since the traditional street lighting system is designed to turn on lights throughout the night, even when there is no human presence, this system must be updated to reduce light pollution.
The effect of light pollution on the environment
In order to understand the impact of light pollution on the environment and the side effect caused by increased artificial lighting, an interview was conducted with Professor Latif Qort, Head of the Department of Ecology and Environmental Biology at Ankara University, Turkey.
Professor Kort explained that all living organisms have a specific biological clock, and this system is known as photoperiodic timing, which refers to how plants and animals respond to the alternation of day and night and changes in light and darkness.
In addition, he stressed that the change in the pattern of artificial light and darkness is a factor that greatly affects the environmental balance, and has a negative impact on all living organisms in terms of living in this ecosystem, and this change can lead to the inability of living organisms to perform their reproductive activities. Naturally, it also negatively affects her hormonal balance and reduces her ability to resist diseases.
According to the Turkish professor,
“Artificial lighting is considered one of the sources of pollution, because it changes the life cycles of all living organisms living in the natural environment. It is a life-limiting factor when used unnecessarily, and has caused repercussions that greatly threaten some species of living organisms with extinction.”
Kort pointed out that when we talk about light pollution, urban ecosystems usually come to mind. However, unnecessary lighting used in rural areas, especially on highways, has negative impacts on wildlife.
Consequences of light pollution on living organisms
Growth reactions in most living organisms occur in the dark, as Professor Kort explained:
“When you enter a greenhouse at night, you will hear crackling sounds inside, and these sounds represent growth. Some hormones are actively activated when the concentration of carbon dioxide increases in the dark. Simply put, you can see how a cucumber plant, for example, turns from a flower in the evening to Fruit in the morning.”
He added: "When migratory birds see artificial light sources, they resort to them and circle around them, which leads to many birds colliding with buildings and artificial lights, causing the death of many of them because they lose their direction of migration due to this lighting."
Regarding insects , Kort explained how artificial light affects them, saying:
"Fireflies, which are luminous beetles, emit light up to 14 meters away for mating purposes. But this process does not occur in artificially lit areas for no reason, which causes disruption to the reproduction and migration process of these insects."
"Let's take, for example, the frogs that we see at night on the edges of sports fields in our daily lives," Kort added. "These frogs cannot mate in artificially lit areas, which has led to a sharp decline in their number."
Kort also pointed out how artificial lighting affects the baby Caretta Caretta turtles that hatch from their eggs on the seashore and said:
“These turtles depend on moonlight to reach the sea after hatching, but artificial lighting on the beaches may mislead them and make them head toward the land instead of the sea, causing their numbers to decline.”
Qort emphasized that artificial lighting negatively affects the hibernation and migration times of animals, and that it causes deformities and changes in the growth of plants exposed to it, including early flowering and the inability to enter a rest period.
How do we reduce light pollution?
The only viable solution at the moment is to upgrade the existing street lighting infrastructure and convert it into a smart street lighting infrastructure; Since street lights are the largest source of light pollution, converting them to a smart system is a smart choice.
Smart street lighting
Smart street lighting allows lighting brightness to be adjusted according to the movement of pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles. Through smart street lighting controllers and lighting management systems, city authorities, municipalities or lighting operators can easily adjust public lighting according to actual needs. This means that when there is low demand On lighting, such as between midnight and 5 a.m. when there are few pedestrians, lighting can be scheduled at lower brightness levels. This can significantly reduce light pollution, increase energy efficiency, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Some smart street lighting solutions , such as those offered by Tvilight, are based on sensor technology where the street lights are automatically dimmed when no people are detected, and turned back on to a pre-determined level when human movement is detected. This smart solution significantly saves energy consumption. It reduces carbon dioxide emissions and reduces light pollution.
In addition, smart street lighting contributes to reducing maintenance costs for public lighting infrastructure, and by linking each street lamp to a monitoring system, automatic alerts can be sent to maintenance teams when a malfunction is detected, reducing the need to schedule regular maintenance, and significantly reducing costs. big.
Finally, upgrading street lighting to a smart system can be an essential step towards a city becoming a smart city. Existing street lights already represent a city-wide network, and with the addition of sensing equipment and control systems, this network can be upgraded to a city-wide smart network. This gives... The possibility of integrating Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, providing multiple opportunities such as monitoring security via security cameras, monitoring noise level, collecting traffic data, measuring air pollution, and creating charging points for electric vehicles, opens up amazing possibilities for the city through a single platform. .
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