Apr 05, 2020 light pollution modelling and detection in a heterogeneous environment. It is exacerbated by excessive, misdirected or obtrusive use of light, but even carefully used light fundamentally alters natural conditions. Hong kong has been named the worlds worst city for light pollution. Population hong kongs population was about 7 million in 2008, including a large foreign contingent of 551 329. As chinas power continues to grow, some fear that the considerable autonomy hong. Its something you need to be aware of whether youre moving to. Jun 01, 20 as with most species declines, habitat loss is playing a major role in moth species declines.
Air pollution is a challenge for our entire planet. The three largest foreign groups were from indonesia 141 012. May 17, 2016 light pollution wastes money and energy. Hong kong protesters march with a figure depicting the goddess of democracy in august 2019. Bold action needed to address vietnams air pollution east. Light pollution is the presence of anthropogenic and artificial light in the night environment. Specific categories of light pollution include light trespass, overillumination, glare, light clutter, and skyglow. Environmental protection department of hong kong friends of the earth hong kong, stimulated by the complaints from the general public regarding lighting abuse, produced a light pollution map of hong kong foe, 2009. While theres a time and place for outdoor lighting. Thang nam do, anu vietnam is struggling with alarming air pollution. A growing number of scientists, homeowners, environmental groups and civic leaders are taking action to restore the natural night. Researchers at the department of physics of the university of hong kong completed their light pollution survey and collected near 2,000 night sky brightness data sets from sqms at more than 220 observation sites around hong kong during the past 15 months. The glow of the new york megalopolis is detectable well beyond 100 miles from manhattan and to a small degree will still impact the skys darkness nearly up to the zenith.
The cheapest, most obvious and most effective way to reduce light pollution is to start turning things off. World air map worldwide air pollution map and live air. Controls are imposed on construction noise, noise from commercial and industrial premises and neighbourhood noise, and much effort has gone into preventing noise. However, moths are also suffering due to another cause light pollution.
The underwater downwelling irradiance ed in the gulf of aqaba was measured on the night of september 9 th, 2014 at 23. The hong kong skyline, showing strong light pollution. Mapping out pollution across the globe is our very first step towards making the air more transparent for everyone. Hong kong air pollution has become a critical problem in the city. Direct annual comparisons are to be avoided as there are too many factors involved. The gaia air quality monitoring stations are using hightech laser particle sensors to measure in realtime pm2. People living near paris would have to travel 900 km to corsica, central scotland, or cuenca province, spain, to find large territories where the zenith is essentially unaffected by light pollution artificial sky brightness light pollution map has two base layers road and hybrid bing maps, viirsworld atlasclouds overlays and a point feature overlay sqm, sqc and observatories. Mar 19, 20 the hong kong night sky brightness monitoring network nsn was developed by physicists at the university of hong kong hku to monitor the light pollution condition. To overcome this, we present the world atlas of artificial sky. Controlling noise pollution noise is a common subject of complaint in hong kong and reducing it has been a priority for the epd since the department was established in 1986. Hong kong has only 5% of the land of the pearl river delta, but it creates 20% of its pollution, far more than its neighbouring cities of shenzhen and guangzhou. Despite the increasing interest among scientists in fields such as ecology, astronomy, health care, and landuse planning, light pollution lacks a current quantification of its magnitude on a global scale. Monitoring stations were set up throughout the city covering a wide range of urban and rural settings to continuously measure the variations of the nsb.
Number of sites with different night sky brightness from hong kong light. The largest ever database on night sky brightness hk urban. Its two biggest cities, hanoi and ho chi minh city, are now among the top 15 polluted cities in southeast asia. Commercial and residential areas mong kok, tsim sha tsui and causeway bay are found to be the most severe areas of light pollution. Complaints about light pollution in hong kong source.
Fortunately, concern about light pollution is rising dramatically. To tackle this challenging and imperative task on cleaning our air, the environmental protection department epd has been enforcing the air pollution control ordinance cap. Pdf the effects of light pollution problems in metropolitan areas are investigated in this study. Environmental protection the new world atlas of artificial. This map shows the location of monitoring stations, and their averaged night sky brightness during the period 8. Light pollution in hong kong was declared the worst on the planet in march 20.
Aside from demands for full democracy, hong kong pollution has become the citys hotbutton issue. Artificial lights raise night sky luminance, creating the most visible effect of light pollutionartificial skyglow. Which is why plume labs created flow, the personal air. Due to the spotlights and led billboards, hong kongs sky is many times brighter than other cities. Improving hong kongs air quality is a complex exercise that requires strong understanding of environmental sciences, ability to chart evidencebased multidisciplinary policies, effective feedback and assessment mechanisms and financial resources to take action. The sky glow caused by artificial lighting from urban areas disrupts this natural cycle, and has been shown to impact the behavior of organisms, even many. Contributions of artificial lighting sources on light.
In many places, starstudded skies have given way to a sky awash with artificial light. Friends of the earth hong kongs plans for light pollution. Sortable dark site listing add a new dark site how to see the milky way how to see the aurora color scale meaning more astronomy links. The light pollution map has two base layers road and hybrid bing maps, viirsworld atlasclouds overlays and a point feature overlay sqm, sqc and observatories. Welcome to the improved darksitefinder light pollution map. In recent years, cities have switched from traditional orange streetlights that use high pressure sodium bulbs to metal halide bulbs that produce bluishwhite light. The discussion about light pollution is a relatively new issue. The new world atlas of artificial night sky brightness.
This map is based on light pollution data updated in 2006 by david lorenz. Light pollution in hong kong worst on the planet south. Light pollution in hong kong run run shaw library city. Visualization and analysis of light pollution a case. Realtime air quality index aqi hongkong centralwestern. Measuring light pollution is an intricate process because the natural atmosphere is not completely dark due to airglow and scattered light. Nightsky brightness monitoring in hong konga citywide light. The map uses noaaeog viirs, world atlas 2015, observatories, clouds and sqmsqc overlay contributed by users. The diurnal cycle of light and dark is one of the strongest environmental factors for life on earth. The project team has also obtained funding from the ecf to conduct more comprehensive monitoring by setting up a hong kong night sky brightness monitoring network. In hong kong, a large city on the southeastern coast of china, residents are beginning to complain about lightsflashing signs and billboards that. Air pollution is a great concern to our health and the environment of hong kong. Orel zionwikimedia creative commons a map of light pollution by population and wealth shows which areas across the us and europe could benefit from more efficient light use policies.
The effects of light pollution in hong kong worcester polytechnic. How light pollution affects people and the environment. Each of us can implement practical solutions to combat light pollution locally, nationally and internationally. Democracy in hong kong council on foreign relations. The new world atlas of artificial night sky brightness article pdf available in science advances 26. As a major sideeffect of urbanization, it is blamed for compromising health, disrupting ecosystems and. Journal of quantitative spectroscopy and radiative transfer.
Pdf the new world atlas of artificial night sky brightness. Maps that show the enhanced sky brightness have been prepared for the entire world. Over 5 million night sky brightness measurements were collected since the inception of the project in may 2010, making it the largest single database on night sky brightness ever. Cloud coverage acts as an amplifier for ecological light. Mar 20, 20 hong kong is believed to be the worlds worst city for light pollution, with levels in tsim sha tsui 1,200 times brighter than a normal dark sky. The hong kong night sky brightness monitoring network nsn was established to monitor in detail the conditions of light pollution in hong kong. Pollution levels generally vary from medium to high, although the biggest problems are at roadside levels in builtup areas like causeway bay, central, and mongkok. Concentration of harmful ozone gas, which is cause of the most serious health risk air quality days in the city, highest in pearl river delta region since 2011. A single offending light source often falls into more than one of these categories. To obtain an accurate measurement, scientists use satellite images of earth at night to determine the number and intensity of the light sources, and calculate the total sky brightness.
Task force on external lighting environment bureau. More information on light pollution about light pollution light pollution is a form of environmental degradation. Hong kong hk is an autonomous territory, and a former british colony, in southeastern china. Apr 05, 2020 for more on honk kongs light pollution levels and monitoring, see. Survey on impacts of external lighting in hong kong pdf version. Comparing the best and worst regions for light pollution. Once connected, air pollution levels are reported instantaneously and in realtime on our maps. The spectral and spatial distribution of light pollution in. As per the clean air network, 53% of hong kongs pollution comes from local sources power stations, idling engines of cars, trucks and buses and marine emissions. Very easy to set up, they only require a wifi access point and a usb power supply. The university of hong kong conducted a study which showed that pollutants in the hong kong air were three times higher than new york and double that of london. I will have a sharing with enb environment bureau on this light pollution map application and issues faced by citizen regarding light pollution. The purpose of this project was to determine the perceived effects of light pollution on the residents of hong kong and to develop a set of recommendations for our sponsor, friends of the earth hong kong, to use in promoting better light pollution regulations. More information on light pollution university of hong kong.