Glare: the main light pollution problem reported in Glowatch

More than 235 reports in the citizen science tool Glowatch have allowed the creation of a map of artificial light pollution sources throughout the country.

Last Thursday, October 17, the Glowatch Walks took place, where groups of citizens in nine communes of the country reported cases of light pollution. In this second edition of the activity, organized by the Cielos de Chile Foundation, the Ciluz Foundation, the Center for Astrophysics and Related Technologies (CATA), and the Center for Mathematical Modeling, 68 new reports were added to the Glowatch platform.

This time, within the framework of the implementation of the New Lighting Standard, participants walked the streets of Iquique, Antofagasta, Caldera, Vallenar, Andacollo, Colina (Chicureo), Las Condes, Providencia, and Puerto Varas to identify and report cases of light pollution, such as glare, poorly directed light, cold light, or intrusive light.

What do the Glowatch reports show?

To date, the reports collected by Glowatch offer a detailed overview of the main light pollution problems in different regions of the country. Daniela González, executive director of the Cielos de Chile Foundation, highlights that the tool’s data already allows identifying the sources that authorities should pay attention to in order to enforce the New Lighting Standard. “We already have more than 200 reports, which has allowed us to create an initial map of how lighting is being done in various cities of the country,” she stated.

The most detected type of light pollution by users has been glare, with 33.19% of the total reports, followed by over-illumination with 24.45% of the cases. Another significant type of reported light pollution has been cold white light, representing 11.79% of the reports. Additionally, other cases of poor lighting have been recorded, such as intrusive light (10.92%), wasted light (10.04%), and light directed towards the sky (9.61%).

Regarding the areas where these polluting sources were detected, most reports focused on public street lighting, with 38.2% of the total. 21.89% of the reported lights were in commercial areas, while 19.74% corresponded to lights in private residences. Cases were also recorded in sports facilities (10.30%) and even a report was made in a protected area.

How to use Glowatch to report light pollution?

Glowatch aims to be an educational tool for sustainable lighting that encourages citizens to get involved in protecting dark skies from their neighborhoods, workplaces, and even their own homes. “The invitation to people is to be attentive to their surroundings to identify those lights that pollute. Sometimes in our own homes, we have lights that are poorly directed or may be wasting energy. The call is to reflect on the way we illuminate and make the necessary adjustments to take care of our health and the environment,” explained Daniela González.

Reports can be made at any time, any day of the week, without having to wait for the next Glowatch Walks. You just need to visit the website and click on the WhatsApp icon available on the platform. Additionally, a complete and georeferenced database of all received reports is available.