A report in February commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) may have wrongly marked out Moradabad, in Uttar Pradesh, as the second-noisiest city in the world.
The report, Frontiers 2022: Noise, Blazes and Mismatches has a chapter Listening to Cities: From Noisy Environments to Positive Soundscapes delves into the harm from excessive noise levels and illustrates the decibel range of noise levels in 60 cities around the world.
Dhaka, Bangladesh, is marked out as having the highest sound levels — 119 decibels (dB). Next on the list is Moradabad, India, with a value of 114 dB and followed by Islamabad, Pakistan, with a max dB of 105.
While the report is made of a compilation of disparate research studies that have measured noise levels in these cities, the source for the information on Moradabad is a single study: Environmental noise challenges and policies in low-and middle-income countries. South Florida Journal of Health.
A perusal of this research paper, authored by Dietrich Schwela, a researcher at the University of York, suggests no reference to Moradabad but mentions noise levels in Aurangabad (42-102), Chandigarh (51-75) and Kolkata (70-83). Schwela’s study itself is a compilation of studies by several authors from around the world and includes studies on Aurangabad, Chandigarh and Kolkata by independent authors.
Another place that finds itself in the Frontiers report is Asansol, India, again referenced to Dr. Schwela’s report and again, like Moradabad, with no mention in the report.
‘No sensors installed’
Vikas Mishra, in-charge of the Pollution Control Board in Moradabad, was quoted by the ANI news service as saying that “...There are no sensors installed by UNEP to measure such data here and neither have we received any info about such monitoring.”
The Hindu reached out to the lead author of the Frontiers report, Francesco Aletta, of the University College London, United Kingdom, to clarify on how Moradabad and Asansol made it into the report. He responded he was “unwell” and unable to clarify immediately. The Hindu also reached out to Dr. Schwela but did not get a response.
India has laws defining the upper limit of noise levels. In industrial areas, the upper limit is 75 dB for daytime and 70 dB at night. In commercial areas, it is 65 dB and 55 dB, while in residential areas it is 55 dB and 45 dB during daytime and night respectively. The World Health Organisation in 2018 recommended that average noise levels not exceed 53 dB.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) prepares a report annually on noise levels in several metropolitan cities. It also has a special report on noise levels a day before and after Deepavali to gauge the effect of firecrackers on noise pollution levels. But Moradabad is not one of the cities that the CPCB includes in its noise-monitoring protocol.
Noise pollution and its links to ill health have been well established. Listening to music with earphones at the maximum volume _ ranging between 90 and 100 dB at the eardrum _ could start to cause hearing damage after only 15 minutes per day, the Frontiers report notes. Regular exposure to over 85 dB for an eight-hour day or longer can cause permanent hearing damage. Long-term exposures, even at relatively lower noise levels that are common in urban areas, can also damage both physical and mental health. In Europe alone, long-term exposure to noise contributes to 12,000 premature deaths and 48,000 new cases of ischemic heart disease, it added.
