The story so far: A February report commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme on the environmental challenges posed by noise, wildfires and the disruption of biological rhythms of plants, animals and ecological cycles became controversial on account of the mention of a single city, Moradabad.
What was the controversy?
The first chapter of the report, called Frontiers 2022: Noise, Blazes and Mismatches, deals with noise. It compiles studies about noise levels in several cities around the world and illustrates a subset of 61 cities and the range of dB (decibel) levels that have been measured. Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkata, Asansol and Moradabad are the five Indian cities mentioned in this list and Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh was shown as having a dB range from 29 to 114. At a maximum value of 114, it was the second-most-noisiest city in the list. The first was Dhaka, Bangladesh at a maximum value of 119 dB.
While road traffic, industry and high population density are well-known factors associated with high dB levels, the inclusion of Moradabad appeared strange because similar studies in the past had never suggested it to be an unusually noisy city. There was no mention of the city in any of the scientific reports listed out in the bibliography of sources. A perusal of the list of research articles, linking each city to the scientific study undertaken to measure noise levels, pointed to a study, “Environmental noise challenges and policies in low-and middle-income countries. South Florida Journal of Health.” This was authored by Dietrich Schwela, a researcher at the University of York, but surprisingly had no reference to Moradabad.
There were references to noise levels in Aurangabad (40-102), Chandigarh (51-75) and Kolkata (70-83). Schwela’s study itself is a compilation of studies by several authors from around the world and the studies on Aurangabad, Chandigarh and Kolkata were done by independent authors. Another place that finds itself in the Frontiers report is Asansol, India, again referenced to Schwela’s study and like Moradabad has no mention in the study.
So, is Moradabad the second-noisiest city?
The author of that chapter, Francesco Aletta, is based at the University College, London, in response to queries from The Hindu said that the confusion stemmed from errors in the bibliography. The actual study linked to Moradabad was: “Assessment of noise level status in different areas of Moradabad city” by Avnish Chauhan, of the Graphic Era Hill University, Dehradun. Incidentally this study was published in 2010 and, as is routine in many studies measuring noise levels, involved measurements in different parts of the city: residential areas, industrial areas and commercial places during the day and night. The 114 measurement was an average of measurements reported from a factory in an industrial zone. Aletta added that inferring Moradabad to be the ‘second-noisiest city’ was incorrect because the list of cities whose values were illustrated were only indicative.
The noise indicators that the different studies/reports included weren’t “necessarily consistent/harmonised and it was generated simply as an example of the spread of noise values that different people have observed in different cities over time in different places.”
Why are measurements of noise important?
The latest 2018 World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines established a health-protective recommendation for road traffic noise levels of 53 dB. The Frontiers report compiled a host of evidence, including the adverse effects of noise on public health, which range from mild and temporary distress to severe and chronic physical impairment. Night-time noise disturbs sleep and affects well-being the following day.
Estimates suggest that in Europe 22 million and 6.5 million people suffer from chronic noise annoyance and sleep disturbance, respectively. The elderly, pregnant women and shift workers are among those at risk of noise-induced sleep disturbance. Noise-induced awakenings can trigger a range of physiological and psychological stress responses because sleep is necessary for hormonal regulation and cardiovascular functioning. Traffic noise exposure is a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders such as elevated blood pressure, arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease and diabetes. Long-term exposure to environmental noise contributes to 48,000 new cases of ischemic heart disease and causes 12,000 premature deaths annually in Europe.
Two 15-year-long studies of long-term residents of Toronto, Canada found that exposure to road traffic noise elevated risks of acute myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure, and increased the incidence of Type 2 diabetes by 8%, and hypertension by 2%, says the report.
What is India doing about noise pollution?
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is mandated to track noise levels, set standards as well as ensure, via their State units, that sources of excessive noise are controlled.
The agency has a manual monitoring system where sensors are installed in major cities and few cities have the facility to track noise levels in real time. The CPCB also measures noise levels before and after Diwali in major cities, to publicise the impact of firecrackers.
THE GIST
The first chapter of the February UNEP report compiles studies about noise levels in several cities around the world. Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkata, Asansol and Moradabad are the five Indian cities mentioned in this list.
Moradabad had never been suggested as an unusually noisy city. The author of that chapter said that the confusion stemmed from errors in the bibliography.
Adverse effects of noise pollution on public health range from mild and temporary distress to severe and chronic physical impairment.
- A February report commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme on the environmental challenges posed by noise, wildfires and the disruption of biological rhythms of plants, animals and ecological cycles became controversial on account of the mention of a single city, Moradabad.
- It compiles studies about noise levels in several cities around the world and illustrates a subset of 61 cities and the range of dB (decibel) levels that have been measured.
- The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is mandated to track noise levels, set standards as well as ensure, via their State units, that sources of excessive noise are controlled.
