Good News
A Gurugram student built a free app that measures light pollution from a phone photo
Class 12 student Suhani Gupta's SkyQi has collected readings from 490+ people in 63 countries.
In short
63countries using SkyQi
- 1,198 photos
- 490+ contributors
- Night glow up ~70% in 50 Indian cities
What happened
Suhani Gupta, a Class 12 student from Gurugram, built SkyQi, a free website that estimates how dark the night sky is from a single smartphone photo. It counts visible stars, compares horizon and overhead brightness, and corrects for camera settings.
It has gathered 1,198 photos from more than 490 contributors in 63 countries.
Why it matters
Her analysis of NASA satellite data found night-time brightness in 50 Indian cities rose about 70% from 2015 to 2025, and 47 of the 50 got brighter. Light pollution hurts wildlife, sleep and stargazing — and now anyone can measure it.
Read the original reporting
The Better India↗
