Signal 3,000 decommissioned satellites littering space

Summary

The report finds that pollution and degradation now threaten wider environments beyond the Earth's surface, including space. Some 3,000 retired satellites already remain in orbit as debris, endangering satellites that are still operating. The report offers this as an example of how far the reach of pollution now extends. On the ground, industrialisation, urbanisation and farming have harmed the environment through successive waves of pollutants. In recent years, pollution from light, noise, heat and pharmaceuticals has emerged as new concerns. The report judges that although understanding of pollution is improving, much remains unknown about what prolonged exposure to complex pollutant mixtures does.