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Using a 23-year (2000\u20132022) cross-calibrated NTL product integrated with land-cover, population, and topographic data, we analysed illumination dynamics in the Chengdu\u2013Chongqing economic circle. Mean radiance rose by 78% while the lit area expanded from 0.53% to almost 12%. About three-quarters of this growth is confined to a 4\u20136\u00a0km peri-urban \u201cneon ring\u201d created chiefly by cropland conversion to high-rise housing and logistics estates, now ~\u200940% brighter than historic cores. Targeted LED retrofits and fa\u00e7ade-lighting curfews produced persistent downtown \u201cdark hollows\u201d, proving that local policy can dampen sky-glow. Cropland-to-urban parcels emitted roughly 6 nW cm\u207b\u00b2 sr\u207b\u00b9 more light than other transitions, and protected wetlands brightened threefold, flagging covert development. Spatial autocorrelation analysis revealed extremely high global Moran\u2019s I values (&gt;\u20090.92 after 2013), indicating strong spatial clustering patterns of illumination changes, with local LISA analysis identifying hotspots predominantly concentrated in the core areas of both cities. Projections indicate\u2009~\u20091,000\u00a0km\u00b2 of additional luminous sprawl by 2042 as radiance continues to climb despite a 1.6% population decline, underscoring a widening decoupling between light and headcount.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-025-34706-9","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,10]],"date-time":"2026-01-10T15:06:14Z","timestamp":1768057574000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Nighttime light dynamics reveal peri-urban brightening and population decoupling in the Chengdu Chongqing megaregion"],"prefix":"10.1038","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Wenli","family":"Liang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rui","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pinglang","family":"Kou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"34706_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4333","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph19074333","volume":"19","author":"N Qi","year":"2022","unstructured":"Qi, N. et al. 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