Sky and Telescope (8 April 2026)

​Light Pollution Is Increasingly Variable Around the World

John Barentine (Dark Sky Consulting), who was not involved in the Nature study, emphasizes that despite patches of dimming lights, the world is brightening on large spatial scales. That has implications for those interested in protecting dark, starry skies.

“Since artificial light at night is a pollutant that effortlessly crosses jurisdictional boundaries,” Barentine says, “village-by-village light pollution abatement plans are very limited in what they can achieve beyond hyperlocal effects.”

“[A] key take-away is that in order to be successful in reducing light pollution, we have to organize on larger spatial scales,” he adds, offering the EU Nature Restoration Regulation as a point of reference. “An increasingly top-down approach is called for.”

Read more: ​https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/light-pollution-is-increasingly-volatile-around-the-world/