UK light pollution levels significantly reduced during lockdown, nationwide star count reveals

Amateur astronomers observing Orion constellation report improvement in visibility compared with February 2020, reports Joe Sommerlad

A photographer lining up a shot on a clear night under the Milky Way at Sycamore Gap on Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland (Owen Humphreys/PA)

The UK’s efforts to bring coronavirus under control appear to have led to a significant reduction in light pollution levels compared with the start of 2020, when offices and other workplaces were still open, according to a nationwide star count.

CPRE, the countryside charity, asked amateur astronomers to count the number of stars they could spot making up the Orion constellation on a clear night in February in order to gauge visibility, commenting afterwards – perhaps inevitably – that the findings were “stellar”.

The citizen stargazers taking part provided more than 8,000 results collated between 6 and 14 February, with 51 per cent of respondents noting 10 or fewer stars, an indication of severe light pollution, but this is a 10-percentage-point drop on the 61 per cent recorded in February 2020.