Spatio-Temporal Variations in Night Lights, Economy and Night Light Emissions in States of India

Increased urbanisation in developing countries has resulted in significant urban growth of towns and cities. The lights observed from the sky at night can be used as a proxy to monitor the process of the country’s urban growth, development, and economy. The present study conducted an analysis using remote sensing data, i.e. (VIIRS DNB satellite datasets) for estimating changes in gross state domestic product (GSDP), bright illuminating areas and associated light pollution from regions of India for the year 2012–13 and 2018–19. Amongst states, the most populous state of India, Uttar Pradesh shows the highest contribution (11.96%) in 2018–19 for total sum of stable lights (SOL) for the nation. The highest annual mean SOL percentage increase (2012–13 to 2018–19) in night lights was witnessed in the state of Bihar (~ 220%). A strong correlation is observed between log SOL and log GSDP for both the time periods viz. 2012–13 ( R 2 = 0.88) and 2018–19 ( R 2 = 0.82). Statistics revealed that there was a growth of 31.16% in bright lit areas from 2012–13 to 2018–19. 1.27% average increase in light pollution was observed from 2012–13 to 2018–19 in India.