Unsustainable human activity has already resulted in global warming and rising temperature across the world. With changing times, pollution has also changed its form. We know that water, air and noise pollution are deteriorating the environment around us. But now, light pollution is further affecting nocturnal fauna in and around human establishments.
Light pollution is defined as the excessive outdoor artificial light that disrupts ecosystems, wastes energy and also washes out starlight in the night sky.
Environmental experts from city noted that the birds like owls, bats and other nocturnal animals have been observed to have left the areas where the electrification is more.
Speaking to Sakal Times, ornithologist Kiran Purandare said that the owls in Bhimashankar have now decreased in number because of over-electrification
“Owls do feeding in dark and they behave like refugees if there are more lights. In Bhimashankar, there was a tourist spot to see owls. However, to make this spot more tourist-friendly, the administration used more lights after which the population of owls was reduced. Earlier, we could spot, Indian eagle owl and brown fish owl in Bhimashankar but now they are not found there,” said Purandare.
“We can also see that wild animals like leopard who hunt in the dark are also affected. We have noticed that leopards are seen around villages. But they cannot hunt as there is more light now. Hence, electrification is good. But at unnecessary places, the light would affect these animals. Other animals like small Indian civet which are usually seen around villages cannot hunt at night as there is over electrification,” said Purandare.
He further added that due to radiation emitted by artificial lights, it is researched all over the globe that the growth of trees is also affected Echoing similar sentiments, Vivek Khandekar, Chief Conservator of Forests, Pune territorial said that bats which are found in the city are deeply affected by over-electrification
“Bats take refuse at the higher end of the tree to stay away from the lights at night. In addition to this, the owls and bats have now started adapting to having lights around at least in the city area. However, this is not their natural state of being,” said Khandekar.
He also spotted many colonies of bats in the city which now take refuse at the upper end of the trees.
