Electromagnetic radiation levels till a certain limit found to have no impact on sparrows in Guwahati

Subject :Environment

Section: Pollution

In a study about the possible impact of radiofrequency EMR on wild birds (house sparrow, great tit, blue tit, and white stork) with regards to their occupancy, abundance, breeding density, reproduction, and species composition.
The house sparrow (Passer domesticus) was one of the most ‘successful’ urban birds, occupying two-thirds of the world’s surface.
However, recent years have witnessed a decline in their populations across many parts of the world.
Among the various causes hypothesized were:
- lack of nesting sites due to rapid urbanization,
- unsustainable loss of green cover,
- excessive use of pesticides,
- lack of traditional granaries,
- avian malaria,
- air pollution, and
- possible link with increasing electromagnetic radiation emitted from cell phone towers.
The study concluded that EMR did not seem to possess a significant correlation with the densities of house and tree sparrows
A takeaway from this study is that we should focus more on urban ecological planning, providing more open green spaces so that sparrows and other birds can thrive amidst humans.
While EMR doesn’t seem to affect house sparrows and tree sparrows, the authors cannot say the same for other species.
According to them, exposure to prolonged EMR could be a serious concern for bees, fruit flies, frogs, birds, bats and even humans.