Analysis of Significant Factors Influencing Light Pollution: Urbanisation and GDP Per Capita

Author : Arnav Kapoor 
DPS RK Puram, New Delhi, India

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Abstract 
In the modern world, light pollution has grown to become an increasingly serious issue, affecting the lives of plants and animals alike in major ways by altering their circadian rhythms. The purpose of the study was to find correlations between the amount of a nation’s population affected by light pollution and demographic factors of that population. Through a quantitative approach, the research study sought to examine the impact of the following factors — population density, per capita income, literacy rate, forest cover, urbanisation — on the artificial brightness of an area. A regression analysis was conducted on the data for 178 United Nations Recognized Countries. The study found that the percentage of urban population and GDP per capita had a statistically significant impact on light pollution: the greater the percentage of urban population and the GDP per capita the more light pollution there was, at the probability level of p<.01. It was also found that in Indian cities, light pollution decreased with an increase in literacy rate, showing that education and awareness needs to be brought to the field. The results of this research study shows that human activity, particularly in the urban sector, exerts a strong impact on light pollution. Therefore, smart lighting, pollution-efficient lights, and streetlamps, etc. should be considered in urban planning and city design so that they can be implemented on a wide scale. This not only reduces light pollution, but also reduces energy consumption, thereby providing an economic incentive to prevent light pollution. 

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Analysis of Significant Factors Influencing Light Pollution: Urbanisation and GDP Per Capita
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