CIA – 1

ENVIRONMENT LAW

Topic:
Critical need for legislation to prevent Light Pollution

Submitted to : Submitted by :
Asst. Prof. Himanshu Shukla Aman Singh 21212006
Diya Halder 21212020
Light pollution, the excessive or misdirected artificial light that brightens the night sky and
interferes with natural darkness, is a pressing environmental issue that affects urban areas
around the world. The above shown picture that has been captured from a higher altitude in
Delhi-NCR, the bustling capital city of India, showcases the rapid development and
increasing population that has led to an alarming rise in light pollution, impacting various
aspects of human health, wildlife, and astronomical observation. Ever since we were young
kids, were always taught about how to prevent soil, water and air pollution to protect our
environment from being affected. We were rarely ever taught about the harmful effects that
light emission imposes on us. The layman understands this type of pollution to be an
unintended consequence of urbanization and modernization that has become a pressing
Environmental concern worldwide. However, it’s no longer a mere consequence to our
ignorance rather growing towards a critical dimension of tackling light pollution exploring
the existing legal framework, challenges, potential solutions, and the role of various
stakeholders in mitigating this problem. Light pollution has not become a legal issue yet but
the nuisance that it has been creating requires an immediate need for case-by-case assessment
based on based on other appropriate criteria’s- similar to the assessment of noise from
sporting events, for which no particular regulation exists.

Several pollution cases had seen the light of day around the time of the industrial revolution
and increased in the current era of increasing urbanization, light pollution had also been a
significant contributor but was never counted in. Many kinds of research have found out
various factors and consequences linked to this pollution, stating that the situation will
worsen over time. The worsening effects were studied much later, drawing attention to the
fact that light pollution has both direct and indirect negative influences on all living beings-
plants, animals, and human beings. In animal, insect, and bird species, light pollution alters
many biological processes like migration, breeding, nesting, and hatching. The spectral
compositions of artificial lights are the causes behind all the damaging effects on the various
aspects of our life. With increasing urbanization, human beings are spending more of their
time indoors or in vehicles, reducing the exposure to the natural daytime lighting that is
essential for our biological processes. More exposure to artificial lighting has alarming
consequences. It often alters our sleep and wake cycles leading to sleep deprivation. Apart
from the health concerns, there also awaits a problem of high energy consumption and
wastage with the increased dependence on artificial light sources. Major causes of light
pollution are inefficient, unappealing, or unnecessary uses of artificial light. This type of
pollution can be broadly divided into various categories that affect us daily

India’s Legal foundation offers provisions for addressing Pollution of light through
Environment Protection act, the rising concern of Light pollution can potentially be covered
under the same. The Municipal corporations have been regulating through laws that require
energy efficient lighting means, prohibit glare, etc. Despite the existing legal provisions that
do not explicitly address the issue impose several challenges and impede the effective
regulation of light pollution. One of such is the issue of resource constraints that limits the
regulatory authorities from taking adequate measures to monitor lighting practices. However,
individuals, be it the regulating agencies or the general public both lack awareness and
knowledge of the consequences of ignorance towards light emission. This lack of non-
compliance with light regulations result in the mismanagement of tackling these challenges.
As we move towards technological growth and advancement it is impossible to live without
artificial lights and its also not feasible to live with extreme light emissions. Thus, Light
pollution has far-reaching consequences, necessitating a comprehensive regulatory approach
that addresses various dimensions of the issue

PiL’s
We need regulations
efforts & suggestions that can be taken