Pradushana

Is Light Pollution Real?

As humans have evolved, they have learnt to make the most of the daylight by resting through the night. They have managed to condition themselves to use the darkness. However, over the past few decades, traits and skills millennia of evolution have been hindered by the large amounts of light pollution. This has been affecting sleep cycles, often causing insomnia, which may lead to many psychological issues, such as irritability, fatigue, anxiety and often even depression.

Pradushana is a Sanskrit word meaning pollution. Here at Pradushana, we seek to spread awareness about this pollution.

What Causes Light Pollution?

One of the main reasons for this excessive light pollution is a lack of knowledge of light pollution, even among the highly educated, the government officials and lighting designers. Due to this, there is a distinct lack of research on the topic of light pollution, leading to data and discoveries being few and far between. This lack of knowledge and research also leads to ineffective lighting policies if they exist at all. This greatly hinders India’s fight against light pollution.

What You Can Do For Light Pollution

POINT YOUR LIGHTS DOWNWARDS
Pointing lighting, be it streetlamps, outdoor lighting fixtures, even indoor lights downwards, instead of towards the side has two effects: It reduces the light pollution, and it makes the lighting more effective. This is because pointing your lighting towards the side or upwards means that more light is escaping into the atmosphere, and less of the energy that you are consuming is actually being used.

USE WARM COLOURED LIGHTS
Using warm coloured lights is a surprisingly effective tool in reducing your light footprint. Warm lights contain more red light, which does not get scattered easily compared to cooler blue lights, producing less light pollution. White and blue lights also tend to produce more glare, are harsher on the eyes, and are more harmful for plants and animals.

SHADE/COVER LIGHTS
Even when pointed downwards, lamps, streetlights and lighting fixtures tend to project light upwards, causing immense light pollution. This can be amended by covering the tops of the light source, blocking the light and reflecting it back onto the ground, not only reducing light pollution, but also helps in getting more out of the energy consumed.