{"id":500422,"date":"2026-05-24T12:41:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T12:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/500422\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T12:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T12:41:11","slug":"good-news-heres-where-light-pollution-is-getting-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/500422\/","title":{"rendered":"Good news! Here\u2019s where light pollution is getting better"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"LightNASA data from 2014 to 2022 shows light pollution is getting better in some areas. Locations shown in purple are areas where the lights at night are getting dimmer. Image via NASA Earth Observatory<\/a>\/ Michala Garrison.<\/p>\n

You deserve a daily dose of good news.<\/strong> For the latest in science and the night sky, click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.<\/a><\/p>\n

Good news! In some areas light pollution is getting better<\/p>\n

On May 15, 2026, NASA shared<\/a> new global maps that showed how light pollution has changed between 2014 and 2022. It\u2019s part of what NASA calls its Black Marble<\/a> project, in which three different satellites capture imagery of Earth at night. <\/p>\n

And these satellites collect a long-term record of global nighttime light. The Black Marble shows where illegal fishing is occurring, natural gas is flaring, volcanoes are erupting and much more. And it shows the best locations to stargaze<\/a><\/p>\n

In the map above, purple areas show where nighttime lighting has been dimming. Note the concentrated area of purple in northwestern Europe. NASA Earth Observatory said<\/a>: <\/p>\n

\n

LEDs and energy conservation measures coincided with reduced light pollution in Paris and throughout France (a 33% dimming), the U.K. (22% dimming), and the Netherlands (21% dimming).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Although not all dimming was from positive progress. NASA also said: <\/p>\n

\n

European nights dimmed sharply in 2022 during a regional energy crisis that followed the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Some places are still getting brighter<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, there are still plenty of places on the globe that are seeing an increase in light pollution. On the two maps here, areas that show in yellow or gold brightened over the period from 2014 to 2022. Overall, global radiance increased by 34% during the study period.<\/p>\n

In the U.S., the West Coast got brighter while the East Coast dimmed. The researchers attributed the East Coast dimming largely to adopting more energy-efficient LEDs and \u201cbroader economic restructuring.\u201d Around the world, China and northern India showed a surge of lighting as cities grew.<\/p>\n

The good news about light pollution is that it\u2019s reversible. And you can start at home! Limit outdoor lights, point lights downward, use warm-colored or amber LEDs and install motion detectors so the light only comes on when needed. Read more about solutions to light pollution at Dark Sky International<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"MapView larger<\/a>. | The areas of the globe that have brightened from 2014 to 2022 are in gold. Those that have dimmed are in purple. Image via NASA Earth Observatory<\/a>\/ Michala Garrison.<\/p>\n

Bottom line: A new global map from NASA shows areas that are seeing a reduction in light pollution. See the maps here and learn how to limit light pollution where you are.<\/p>\n

Via NASA<\/a><\/p>\n

Kelly Kizer Whitt
\n View Articles<\/a><\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/p>\n

Kelly Kizer Whitt – EarthSky\u2019s nature and travel vlogger on YouTube – writes and edits some of the most fascinating stories at EarthSky.org. She’s been writing about science, with a focus on astronomy, for decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine and made regular contributions to other outlets, including AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club. She has nine published books, including a children’s picture book, Solar System Forecast, and a young adult dystopian novel, A Different Sky.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NASA data from 2014 to 2022 shows light pollution is getting better in some areas. Locations shown in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":500423,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[77],"tags":[6599,18,50212,19,17,133],"class_list":["post-500422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-earth","tag-eire","tag-human-world","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116629608740368918","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/500423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}