The Adriatic Sea, Baltic Sea and western Mediterranean Sea are the European waters at greatest regional risk from harmful artificial light at night, according to a University of Plymouth assessment released on 7 October 2026. More enclosed seas generally face greater risk, while open waters such as Macaronesia, the Barents Sea and the Iceland Sea are among the lowest-risk areas identified.
Which European waters face the greatest risk?
The assessment names the Adriatic Sea, Baltic Sea and western Mediterranean Sea as the highest-risk regional seas. The University of Plymouth’s release describes a broad pattern: waters enclosed by land on several sides tend to have higher exposure risk than more open waters. That is a regional screening result, not a claim that every site or species within those seas faces the same exposure.
Macaronesia—which includes the Canary Islands, Azores, Madeira and Cape Verde—as well as the Barents Sea and Iceland Sea are given as lower-risk examples. Waters around the UK, the Greater North Sea and the Celtic Seas are described as mostly medium to low risk. The release notes that North Sea oil and gas fields and associated infrastructure add artificial light in an otherwise more open-water setting.
How the assessment estimates marine light risk
Artificial light at night (ALAN) can enter coastal waters from towns, cities and infrastructure. The assessment combines coastal light emissions with seawater clarity and the way light penetrates the water column. It developed separate risk scores for the water column and seabed, then summarized the share of regional seas in nil, low, medium and high risk categories.
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The purpose was to establish criteria for assessing Good Environmental Status in marine waters in relation to ALAN, an area for which the University of Plymouth says such criteria had not been defined. The release says the team used existing data, including a global atlas of nighttime light pollution, but does not publish the equations, thresholds, input-data versions, uncertainty analysis or detailed regional percentages. The named regions can therefore be compared only at the broad level reported in the release; exact proportions and thresholds should not be inferred from the rankings.
What underwater light exposure can mean
A separate peer-reviewed 2020 study by Davies and colleagues measured artificial light at the sea surface over Plymouth Sound and the Tamar Estuary, then modeled how it travelled through the water. The model incorporated local optical properties, bathymetry, tide and cloud conditions. Under cloudy conditions at low-water spring tide, green light exceeded the study’s “biologically important” threshold across 76% of the surveyed three-dimensional seafloor area. That is a result for this particular survey area and scenario, not a Europe-wide estimate.
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The threshold was based on minimum blue, green and red irradiances that elicit diel vertical migration in Calanus copepods. The authors note that biological sensitivity differs by taxon and that a threshold based on species with measured sensitivities cannot represent every organism. The European regional risk categories should likewise be understood as a screening framework, not direct measurements of harm to every species or proof that an ecosystem has crossed a universal biological threshold.
Lighting changes proposed for consideration
The University of Plymouth release suggests that authorities in heavily affected tourist areas could explore ways to limit light entering the sea. These are proposed options, not interventions whose effectiveness this regional assessment experimentally measured.
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- Shield lights so less illumination spills toward the water.
- Dim lights where lower intensity can meet the need.
- Use part-night lighting where illumination is not needed throughout the night.
- Consider wavelength choices when planning coastal lighting.
- Designate dark spaces on and around islands as an alternative visitor experience.
The release does not quantify how much any one measure would reduce marine exposure or establish that a particular fixture will lower risk at regional scale.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the findings do—and do not—say about policy
The assessment is intended to help identify where marine waters may be most at risk and to support evaluation of Good Environmental Status. It does not, by itself, establish a universal biological harm threshold or determine what legal controls should apply in each location.
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A 2022 Eionet European light-pollution review reported that there was then no common EU policy regulating light pollution, although some national and regional approaches existed. That is a dated account of policy at the time of publication, not a statement of the current legal position.
In the university release, Dr Thomas Davies, Associate Professor of Marine Conservation, argued that evidence of risk and harm should be translated into action. Professor Tim Smyth, Director of Science at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, emphasized that defining Good Environmental Status requires combining observations and mapping with scientific judgment about what constitutes a healthy ocean. Professor Elena Maggi, Professor in Ecology at the University of Pisa and AquaPLAN Project Coordinator, described the challenge of translating knowledge into ways to identify ecosystems most at risk. These remarks are reproduced as attributed in the university’s release.
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Sources
- University of Plymouth: Study highlights the European waters at greatest risk of harmful light pollution (7 October 2026)
- Davies et al. (2020), study of artificial light transmission in Plymouth Sound and the Tamar Estuary
- Eionet European light-pollution review (2022)
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