Satellites spent nine years tracking Earth’s lights and uncovered a surprising pattern

For 9 years, satellites have been tracking the Earth's nighttime light in a study, and the results threw up some unexpected patterns. The study published in Nature relied on more than a million satellite images that were collected daily from 2014 to 2022. The study was led by scientists from the University of Connecticut, working along with NASA, Yale University, Cornell University, and a few other institutes across the U.S. and Germany. They used NASA's Black Marble satellite system to track the data. The study revealed that Earth's nighttime light is not continuously growing brighter, but actually flickering. 

Some parts of the world were found to be brightening, while other parts were dimming simultaneously, painting a very volatile picture. The study revealed that this phenomenon was caused by several factors, among other things, the burning of less gas in oil fields, or 'gas flaring reductions.' Some other factors included certain regions losing access to light, and governments being intentional about its light resources. In recent years, the volatility of the nighttime light could also be attributed to the Covid19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine energy crisis.

Scientists are making use of this volatility to study urban development, energy policies, and their impacts on the environment. They used daily satellite images by looking at the timing, intensity, direction, and whether the changes are slow or sudden. Currently, Asia is at the top for brightening, led by China, followed by India. While Europe has dimmed due to certain regulations. France saw a net drop of 33%, followed by the U.K. at 22%, and the Netherlands at 21%. One notable country that lost 26% of its light is Venezuela, owing to its economic collapse.  In the U.S, the West Coast saw an increase, while the East Coast saw a dim in nighttime light.

Overall, the world saw a 16% increase in nighttime light during the 9 years of the study. It also recorded that an area of 3.51 million square kilometers (larger than India) saw noticeable changes in its nighttime light at least once in the span of 9 years. Other areas that saw changes more than once have grown 5.5 times from the original area that was lit. 

The most important finding of the 9-year study is nighttime light volatility, or otherwise called the flickering. Scientists have a term for this phenomenon, calling it a "societal electrocardiogram." It helps researchers and scientists study human activity in real-time, as well as understand the stability of countries. It aids the researchers, as well as government officials, in understanding energy shortages or environmental disturbances around the world.

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