Bangladesh
Noise Pollution Dhaka tops the noise pollution index: UN
Own Correspondent, Dhaka, March 28: Bangladesh's capital Dhaka has topped the noise pollution index with the highest noise pollution of 119 db.
This information has been given in a report titled 'Annual Frontiers Report-2022' of the United Nations Environment Program (UNAP). According to a report released by UNAP on February 17, Dhaka is now the top city in the world in terms of noise pollution.
Moradabad in India's Uttar Pradesh and Pakistan's capital Islamabad have ranked second and third respectively in the list.
Northern Bangladesh's Rajshahi city has ranked among the top five cities in the list of noise pollution cities around the world. The city ranks fourth and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam ranks fifth.
Citing guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO), the report said the permissible noise level for residential areas is 55 decibels, and 70 decibels in commercial areas and where there is traffic congestion. The noise level in Dhaka, a densely populated and heavily congested city, was 119 decibels while it was 103 decibels in Rajshahi, the report said.
"Environmental noise sources such as road congestion, air traffic, rail traffic, noise from machinery, industry and recreational activities have a negative impact on physical and mental well-being," the report said.
The list of 13 most polluted cities in the United Nations Environment Programme includes 13 cities in South Asia. Bangladesh's Dhaka and Rajshahi are on this list. There are also five cities in India: Muradabad, Kolkata, Asansol, Jaipur and Delhi.
Jordan's Irbid has been named the world's quietest city in the noise pollution index. The noise level in the city was found to be 69 decibels. Irbid is followed by Lyon in France (69 decibels), Stockholm in Sweden (70 decibels) and Serbia's capital Belgrade (70 decibels).
