CHONGQING, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- A court in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality has ruled that an outdoor LED advertising display caused light pollution and for the first time ordered its operator to limit its brightness and runtime.

Four residents sued the operator of the LED display, claiming the light had disrupted their lives. The court in Jiangjin District conducted multiple field investigations and consulted with several environmental experts after accepting the case.

According to the court, the LED's brightness value shall not be higher than 600 cd per square meter after 7 p.m.

The court also ruled that the display can only run between 8:30 a.m. and 10 p.m. from May to September, and between 8:30 a.m. and 9:50 p.m. from October to April.

A new regulation regarding the evaluation of LED display's light pollution, effective from October, suggests that limiting the hours of operation and brightness instead of shutting LEDs down completely satisfies both parties, the court said.