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3. Light Pollution monitoring and mitigation

Learning Objectives

After these lessons, students should be able to:

• Realise that the night sky is not always accessible for observations even when there are no
clouds;
• Understand the concepts of intensity of light and light pollution and realise that most of the
outdoor lighting systems are not properly designed, producing bad lighting;
• Understand the impact of outdoor lighting on energy resources, on public costs and on the
local and national economy, on security, on the quality of living of people and wildlife, and on
astronomical observations;
• Link light pollution to energy consumption patterns and realize how to reduce your energy
footprint and potential impacts of light pollution threats to the envirioment.
• Learn about energy consumption monitoring at greater scales using digital tools

Glossary (Source: International Dark Sky Association)

Glossary of Lighting Terms

What Is Light Pollution?

Light pollution is excessive, misdirected, or obtrusive artificial (usually outdoor) light. Too
much light pollution has consequences: it washes out starlight in the night sky, interferes
with astronomical research, disrupts ecosystems, has adverse health effects and wastes
energy.

Light Pollution monitoring and mitigation is interdisciplinary between sciences (environment,
astronomy, physics), technology (satellites, telescopes, sensors), arts (architecture, urban planning)
and engineering (robotics, simulations). Teachers should be provided with innovative teaching
methodologies to respond to the changes and prepare the students for the future. Light pollution
started to emerge because of urbanization and industrialization that took place in the 20th century
(the late 1960s) and continued to increase steadily until recent years when discoveries of its effects on
human health and the natural environment led to its increased perception as a complex problem.

Thus, light pollution presents a major challenge with destructive consequences, and it is
noteworthy that the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) and the International Astronomical Union (IAU) both introduced the autonomous
right for every human to transboundary dark-sky landscapes and nocturnal areas. In addition, the 2019
EU Green Deal is an integral part of the EU Commission’s strategy to implement the United Nations
2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, with Sustainable Urban Development and
nature conservation overall standing as key pillars among these goals. Recent environmental studies
monitored the amount of light pollution that exists across regions highlighting that over 80% of the

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the
views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the

information contained therein.
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