Indian cities rank high on noise pollution

Metro cities of India have a new menace to handle.

The honking of vehicles is now a part of general cacophony in cities.

This noise pollution can be costly and dangerous too.

Because of the threats of noise pollution, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)...

...tracks noise-levels through monitoring stations spread across India’s major cities.

Across the city’s 10 stations, the average noise levels during the day was 67.8 decibels (dB).

Almost every part of India’s cities, though, including Delhi, violates noise pollution standards.

The government mandates that noise levels in residential areas should not exceed 55 dB during the day (and 45 at night).

In the 13 monitoring stations in residential areas across the six cities...

....this limit was violated during both day and night throughout 2018.

Even designated silence zones, areas around hospitals, for instance, do not meet noise pollution standards.

The noisiest parts of the city are in commercial and industrial areas.

The area around Paradise junction in Hyderabad, is India’s loudest (79 dB).

All this noise can inflict significant damage.

Constant exposure to loud noise  hurts hearing, with children and the elderly especially vulnerable.

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO)...

...South Asia already has the highest prevalence of hearing loss in the world among children and the elderly.

But noise pollution can also lead to deeper damage.

It affects sleep, increases stress and even impairs cognitive development among children.

According to a WHO study, noise pollution was found to be associated with greater risk of heart diseases...

... more stress-related mental health risks and slower child cognitive development.

Beyond the public health costs, noise pollution can even hurt the economy.

Noise at night affects the quality of sleep which is an important determinant of well-being and productivity.

Even during the day, working in a noisy environment hurts productivity.

Noise pollution is a ticking bomb which needs to be tackled immediately.
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