The Dark Side of Urban Light Pollution

Those faint illuminations shimmering in the night sky aren’t just harmless city lights—they could be wreaking havoc on our planet’s freshwater ecosystems. Recent studies have unveiled that even the slightest levels of artificial light can stimulate an overgrowth of harmful algae and disrupt crucial carbon cycling in lakes.

How Skyglow Disrupts Aquatic Life

Researchers at the Leibniz Institute have shed light on the phenomenon of 'skyglow,' artificial light that gets scattered in the atmosphere and reaches remote lakes. 'The impact of skyglow on freshwater systems was largely uncharted territory until now,' explained IGB researcher Hans-Peter Grossart. 'Our findings reveal that even organisms like cyanobacteria, which thrive at night, are affected by this unnatural glow.'

A Groundbreaking Experiment