Light pollution and overnight lighting have had measurable impacts on fauna across the world, from sea turtle nesting to the migration patterns of birds. A new study from the United Kingdom has shed some light on how unnatural illumination is affecting the world’s plants as well. 

In data gathered from 1999 to 2011, a number of tree species exposed to artificial lighting were found to bud five to seven days earlier than their counterparts not exposed to artificial lights.

Mauna Kea is one of the most important locations in the astronomy world. Located on the main island of Hawaii, Mauna Kea is a million-year-old dormant volcano. With its peak reaching 13,803 feet above sea level, Mauna Kea is the world’s tallest volcano, making it the perfect spot to host some of the greatest telescope and astronomical observatories ever created. 

Twice a year more than 5 million birds from at least 250 different species fly through the city of Chicago alone as they head toward Canada in the spring and return south toward Central and South America in the fall. Though beautiful, the Windy City’s skyline can prove fatal to a number of birds who collide with glass-covered or illuminated buildings. 

Studies have estimated at least 100 million bird deaths related to light pollution in cities throughout the United States per year, and some estimates put that number closer to one billion deaths per year. 

The greatest threat to amateur astronomy today is the unreasonably excessive growth of severe light pollution. Because most cities demand effective lighting above all else, the harmful impacts of such extreme sources of light pollution have been neglected. What’s more unfortunate, we’ve forgotten the beauty and grandeur of the milky way--we’ve become accustomed to the starless sky. The issue has become less noticeable and therefore, less of a priority. For both amateur and professional astronomers, however, the level of modern-day light pollution is intolerable.

Did you know that light pollution has a substantially harmful impact on wildlife? For billions of years, all plants and animals have developed definitive rhythms based on the unchanging day, night, and seasonal cycles. These rhythms dictate crucial animal behaviors such as sleeping, reproduction, and predation. Within the last hundred years, however, these cycles have been drastically disrupted by the growth of humanity’s artificial night-time lighting. 

Through the incessant growth of both infrastructure and global human population, use of outdoor and city lighting has exploded. While most cities have prioritized effective lighting above all else, they have neglected the harmful impacts associated with light pollution. The most notable of these impacts: the encroached natural environment. We hope to go over what light pollution is, how it harms humanity, as well as which environments and animals are most affected.