UK light pollution levels significantly reduced during lockdown, nationwide star count reveals
The IndependentThe UK’s efforts to bring coronavirus under control appear to have led to a significant reduction in light pollution levels compared with the start of 2020, when offices and other workplaces were still open, according to a nationwide star count. The results also revealed that 5 per cent of British people enjoyed truly dark skies at night, enabling them to see 30 or more stars compromising the Orion constellation, the highest figure since 2013. “We had three times as many people taking part compared to previous years and I’m delighted to see severe light pollution in the UK appears to have fallen. “For many people, participating in the star count during lockdown may have, for the first time in a long while, have been their first encounter with a dark night sky.” Prior to the surprise improvement driven by the pandemic, the extent of light pollution in the UK was a regular cause for concern, with the CPRE’s Night Blight campaign in 2016 drawing attention to the fact that half of the British population could no longer see the Milky Way, our own galaxy.
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