Light pollution in Spain. An european perspective

Abstract

Using DMPS satellite night images taken in 2000 we have estimated the saturated surface in many European countries. The objective of this study is to compare the illumination conditions and its effects in light pollution. We have measured the surface of the saturated zone. We compare this parameter with the ratio of population density of the country. To avoid bias, normalize by dividing the area built in each country prior to the comparison. In this way only takes into account the surface that really makes sense to illuminate.

We have gathered the official data on energy consumption in public lighting in Spain. After plotting the evolution along the years we found changes in the way this value is obtained in different provinces of Spain and we made a more pessimistic prediction for the present energy consumption.