Environment Light pollution and industrial activity in the Arctic on the rise

More than 800,000 square kilometers of the Arctic were affected by human activity in 2013. 85 percent of the areas polluted by light are due to industrial activities and not settlement areas.

The European Arctic and the oil and gas production areas in the US state of Alaska and in Russia were hotspots of human activity. This is shown by a study conducted by an international research team led by the University of Zurich (UZH). Up to a third of the land area in these regions was illuminated.

Light pollution is increasing in terms of area every year, the study continued. Of the 16.4 million square kilometers analyzed, 5.1 percent are affected by light pollution. The area is increasing by 4.8 percent annually, said Gabriela Schaepman-Strub from UZH.

The UZH researchers collected satellite data of artificial light at night to study the development of human activities in the Arctic from 1992 to 2013.

SDA