科學(xué)家：地球的夜晚太亮 這其實(shí)很危險(xiǎn)

The world’s nights are getting alarmingly brighter – bad news for all sorts of creatures, humans included – as light pollution encroaches on darkness almost everywhere.

地球的夜晚變得越來越亮，這種明亮讓人不安——事實(shí)上，這對于包括人類在內(nèi)的各種生物都是壞消息——因?yàn)楣馕廴菊谝稽c(diǎn)一點(diǎn)地蠶食掉各個角落的黑暗。

Satellite observations made by researchers during five consecutive Octobers show Earth’s artificially lit outdoor area grew by 2% a year from 2012 to 2016. So did nighttime brightness.

研究人員連續(xù)五年在十月份觀測到的衛(wèi)星數(shù)據(jù)顯示，2012年到2016年間，地球上有人工照明的室外面積每年增加2%，夜間亮度也隨之增加。

Light pollution was even worse than that, according to the German-led team, because the sensor used cannot detect some of the LED lighting that is becoming more widespread, specifically blue light.

由德國科學(xué)家?guī)ьI(lǐng)的這一研究團(tuán)隊(duì)指出，光污染實(shí)際上比數(shù)據(jù)顯示的更糟，因?yàn)樾l(wèi)星無法探測到一些LED照明燈，尤其是藍(lán)光，發(fā)出的光線。如今人們對LED照明的應(yīng)用日益普遍。

The observations indicate stable levels of night light in the US, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy. But light pollution is almost certainly on the rise in those countries given this elusive blue light, according to Christopher Kyba of the GFZ German research centre for geosciences and the lead author of the study published in Science Advances.

觀測結(jié)果顯示，美國、荷蘭、西班牙和意大利的夜間亮度保持穩(wěn)定。但是，該研究的第一作者、德國地學(xué)研究中心的克里斯多夫•凱巴稱，考慮到觀測不到的藍(lán)光，基本上可以肯定這些國家的光污染有所增加。這項(xiàng)研究發(fā)表在《科學(xué)進(jìn)展》上。

Also on the rise is the spread of light into the hinterlands and overall increased use. The findings shatter the long-held notion that more energy-efficient lighting would decrease usage on the global – or at least a national – scale.

與此同時，偏僻落后地區(qū)的夜間亮度也在上升，夜間照明使用量總體增加。這一研究發(fā)現(xiàn)粉碎了長期以來人們持有的一個觀點(diǎn)，就是引進(jìn)更節(jié)能的照明系統(tǒng)會減少全球——至少是全國范圍內(nèi)的——照明使用量。

“Honestly, I had thought and assumed and hoped that with LEDs we were turning the corner. There’s also a lot more awareness of light pollution,” Kyba told reporters by phone from Potsdam. “It is quite disappointing.”

“說實(shí)話，我原來的設(shè)想和希望是，有了LED照明系統(tǒng)，事情會有所轉(zhuǎn)機(jī)。人們對光污染的意識會大大增強(qiáng)，”凱巴通過電話告訴德國波茨坦的記者說，“結(jié)果挺讓人失望的。”

The biological impact from surging artificial light is also significant, according to the researchers.

研究人員表示，人工照明激增也給生物造成了重大影響。

People’s sleep can be marred, which in turn can affect their health. The migration and reproduction of birds, fish, amphibians, insects and bats can be disrupted. Plants can have abnormally extended growing periods. And forget about seeing stars or the Milky Way if the trend continues.

人們的睡眠質(zhì)量會受到損害，從而影響到身體健康。鳥類、魚類、兩棲動物、昆蟲、蝙蝠的遷徙和繁衍也會被打亂。植物的生長期會異常地延長。如果光污染持續(xù)惡化，你再也別想看到星空或銀河了。

About the only places with dramatic declines in night light were in areas of conflict such as Syria and Yemen, the researchers found. Australia also reported a noticeable drop, but that was because wildfires were raging early in the study. Researchers were unable to filter out the bright burning light.

研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，夜間亮度下降的唯一地區(qū)是敘利亞和也門這樣的戰(zhàn)亂國家。根據(jù)觀測報(bào)告，澳大利亞也出現(xiàn)了夜間亮度的明顯下降，但那是因?yàn)檠芯吭缙诎拇罄麃啺l(fā)生了大火災(zāi)，研究人員無法將野火的亮度過濾掉。

Asia, Africa and South America, for the most part, saw a surge in artificial night lighting.

在亞洲、非洲和南美洲的大部分地區(qū)，夜間人工照明水平都在迅速上升。

More and more places are installing outdoor lighting, given its low cost and the overall growth in communities’ wealth, the scientists noted. Urban sprawl is also moving towns farther out. The outskirts of major cities in developing nations were brightening quite rapidly, Kyba said.

科學(xué)家指出，因?yàn)檎彰鞒杀镜停由仙鐣?cái)富總體水平提高，越來越多的地區(qū)安裝了室外照明系統(tǒng)。城市擴(kuò)張也讓村鎮(zhèn)不停向外延伸。凱巴說，發(fā)展中國家大城市郊區(qū)的夜間亮度正在迅速上升。

Other especially bright hot spots included sprawling greenhouses in the Netherlands and areas of intensive agriculture.

其他特別亮的區(qū)域包括荷蘭四處蔓延的溫室和開展集約化農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)的土地。

One of the co-authors, Franz Holker of the Leibniz institute of freshwater ecology and inland fisheries in Berlin, said things were at the critical point.

該研究的作者之一、柏林萊布尼茲淡水生態(tài)學(xué)和內(nèi)陸漁業(yè)研究所的弗蘭茨•霍爾克表示，事態(tài)發(fā)展已經(jīng)到了危急關(guān)頭。

“Many people are using light at night without really thinking about the cost,” Holker said. Not just the economic cost, “but also the cost that you have to pay from an ecological, environmental perspective”.

霍爾克說：“很多人在晚上隨便開燈，從未認(rèn)真考慮過代價。”不只是經(jīng)濟(jì)代價，“還有生態(tài)、環(huán)境所必須付出的代價”。

Kyba and his colleagues recommend avoiding glaring lamps whenever possible – choosing amber over so-called white LEDs – and using more efficient ways to illuminate places such as parking lots or city streets.

凱巴和他的同事建議盡量避免耀眼的臺燈，選擇琥珀燈而不是所謂的LED白光燈，用更高效的方式來給停車場或城市街道等地方照明。

For example, dim, closely spaced lights tend to provide better visibility than bright lights that are more spread out.

比如，昏暗而集中的光線比明亮而分散的光線能提供更好的可見度。