Radiation from mobile towers is not only taking a toll on human health but is also blamed for sparrows vanishing into thin air.
An environmental science expert team attributes the disappearance of sparrows to the electromagnetic fields and radiation effects created by mobile towers and mobile phones.
Navigation skills of the birds and earth’s magnetic system are correlated. Natural electromagnetic radiation (EMR) and the earth-oriented magnetic vibration are directly proportional, whereas technology-induced EMR is inversely proportional.
All mobile phone towers emit microwave radiation, which is radio frequency radiation (RFR), part of the spectrum of electromagnetic waves. Long-term exposure to low level RFR has damaging effects on the nervous system and immune system of small animals. Studies indicate that short-term exposure of pulsed mobile phone radiation with carrier frequency 900 MHz reduced the reproductive capacity of insects by 60%.
The environmental science experts suggest regulation of mobile towers in thickly populated areas and restricting them to remote areas. If a tower is installed at a place, another tower should not be permitted within a radius of one kilometer, they say.
Birds are good ecological indicators for low-intensity electromagnetic radiation, they have thin skulls and their feathers can act as dielectric receptors of microwave radiation. Many species use magnetic navigation and microwaves can interfere with their sensors and misguide them while navigating and preying.
According to a survey in 2010, the number of house sparrows (Passerdomesticus) has declined in coastal areas, including Kerala, by 80% and by 2003 the sparrows had almost disappeared from the capital city, Trivandrum.
However, a survey by Travancore Natural History Society in 2012 in Trivandrum had identified about 300 sparrows, mostly around granary stores and market yards.
