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rfmcdonaldCheung Chi-fai's South China Morning Post article tells an interesting story about the scale of light pollution in Hong Kong. Toronto's not nearly so bad--I can see bright stars at night--but pure simple night? It's lost here too, if not quite so thoroughly.
Hong Kong is believed to be the world's worst city for light pollution, with levels in Tsim Sha Tsui 1,200 times brighter than a normal dark sky.
The findings were described as shocking by survey leader Dr Jason Pun Chun-shing, of the Department of Physics at the University of Hong Kong.
He said he could find nowhere else on earth as badly affected.
From the notorious hotspot of Tsim Sha Tsui to the remote Sai Kung countryside, the researchers found excessive brightness of varying degrees that scientists said could damage health and wildlife.
[. . .]
In the world's largest light pollution study, scientists collected more than five million brightness measurements at 18 monitoring stations over the past three years. They used an instrument known as a Sky Quality Meter installed on roofs. The worst reading was at the Space Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui from 8.30pm to 11pm, which was 1,200 times the International Astronomical Union standard.
Brightness started to dip after 11pm when lights gradually went out. Tsim Sha Tsui residents once threatened to take developers to court over excessive lights.
Even at the Astropark stargazing facility near High Island Reservoir - where most would expect a natural dark sky - the brightness was still 20 times the standard. Health specialists say light pollution could disrupt the biological clock and affect brain and hormone function.
Pun said that in some European cities like Madrid and Florence, the readings were normally below 100 times the standard.
