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Noise pollution comparison between Delhi, NY and SF

Prashant Mudgal
Prashant Mudgal

Here is a small experiment that I conducted on the noise levels in the city on a typical working day during my morning commute, stay at office and back to home. The same experiment was done in New York and San Francisco and a comparative chart was plotted to see the trend. The result : See for yourself!! By unnecessary honking and by blaring the loudspeakers you are causing stress not only to yourself but also causing hearing damage to yourself and other people in your vicinity.

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Is New Delhi Loud? Prashant Mudgal Data Scientist and Operations Researcher
2 With the population of over 9 million, New Delhi is one of the most famous cities in the world. Last time when I visited New Delhi in October 2015, I felt overwhelmed by the noise not only on roads but also in office and in the residential areas. I thought of measuring the same and conduct a similar experiment in New York and San Francisco and compare. The idea
3 I am not claiming it to be a scientific study but in comparative analysis all readings would suffer from same observational/equipment error, if any. Android phone : Nexus 4 and Nexus 6P App : iNVH by Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions available on Google Play Store Time Range : 6 AM to 12 AM What are we measuring : SPL ( Sound Pressure Level) Units of measurement : decibel, dB(A). A denotes A-weighting scheme which is industry wide standard Equipment and set up
4 It is not correct to ask, a truck! How many dB? The distance is missing here. A given sound level without a given distance is really useless. A typical correct question in this perspective : A truck is making noise but how far is it? The measurements in this experiment are within 5 to 10 meter range from the sources. Thing to keep in mind!
5 Sound Pressure Level table for reference I Data of Central Pollution Control Board, India Source : http://cpcbenvis.nic.in/noise_pollution_control.html
6 Sound Pressure Level table for reference II An industrial device manufacturer Source : https://www.brechbuehler.ch/Whisper- 9000.129+M55e234dd01a.0.html
7 Ambient air quality standards in respect to noise Data for New Delhi Source : http://www.niohenvis.nic.in/statistics/LEG_OSH/The%20Noise%20Pollution%20(Regulation%20and %20Control)%20Rules,%202000.pdf
8 Why this Table is Important? How loud is dangerous?(Typical dbA levels) http://www.niohenvis.nic.in/statistics/LEG_OSH/The%20Noise%20Pollution%20(Regulation%20and%20Control)%20Rules ,%202000.pdf Most of the Sound level measuring devices use the A-weighting as it suppresses the hum components.
9 The road taken New Delhi : North-West Delhi(Rohini) -> Wazirpur Industrial Area -> Outer ring road towards Naraina -> Dhaula Kuan -> Subroto Park -> NH-8 towards Gurgaon. Stay at office and then take the same route back in car. New York : Upper east side(Yorkville) -> 77 st. subway station -> subway -> 57 st. midtown Manhattan. Stay at office and take the same route back. (A lot of walking and exposure to road traffic is also involved) San Francisco : Glen Park -> BART station -> BART -> Mission Street -> Stay in office and take the same route back. (A lot of walking and exposure to road traffic is also involved)
10 Comparative analysis
11 Observations The results are conspicuous. The early hustle bustle of the morning makes New Delhi a lively city but as you move into the day the blaring loudspeakers for appeasing the gods, incessant honking on roads, traffic jams cause a lot of stress. One thing to note is the office culture, in US a typical business consulting office is quiet but same is not the case in Delhi, people love to visit each other on their cubicles and chat or dont necessarily book a meeting room for a discussion. The moment you step out of the office, you will go through the same torture of noise as you did in the morning.
12 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_pressure http://www.sengpielaudio.com/TableOfSoundPressureLevels.htm http://cpcb.nic.in/noise_pollution/StatusofAmbientNoiseLevelinDelhi-2006.pdf http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2334486/Delhi-uncivilised-city-Dangerous-levels-noise-pollution-Capital- causing-onset-age-related-hearing-loss-early-60-new-study-warns.html http://www.cseindia.org/decibel_tour_delhi.pdf References

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Noise pollution comparison between Delhi, NY and SF

  • 1. Is New Delhi Loud? Prashant Mudgal Data Scientist and Operations Researcher
  • 2. 2 With the population of over 9 million, New Delhi is one of the most famous cities in the world. Last time when I visited New Delhi in October 2015, I felt overwhelmed by the noise not only on roads but also in office and in the residential areas. I thought of measuring the same and conduct a similar experiment in New York and San Francisco and compare. The idea
  • 3. 3 I am not claiming it to be a scientific study but in comparative analysis all readings would suffer from same observational/equipment error, if any. Android phone : Nexus 4 and Nexus 6P App : iNVH by Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions available on Google Play Store Time Range : 6 AM to 12 AM What are we measuring : SPL ( Sound Pressure Level) Units of measurement : decibel, dB(A). A denotes A-weighting scheme which is industry wide standard Equipment and set up
  • 4. 4 It is not correct to ask, a truck! How many dB? The distance is missing here. A given sound level without a given distance is really useless. A typical correct question in this perspective : A truck is making noise but how far is it? The measurements in this experiment are within 5 to 10 meter range from the sources. Thing to keep in mind!
  • 5. 5 Sound Pressure Level table for reference I Data of Central Pollution Control Board, India Source : http://cpcbenvis.nic.in/noise_pollution_control.html
  • 6. 6 Sound Pressure Level table for reference II An industrial device manufacturer Source : https://www.brechbuehler.ch/Whisper- 9000.129+M55e234dd01a.0.html
  • 7. 7 Ambient air quality standards in respect to noise Data for New Delhi Source : http://www.niohenvis.nic.in/statistics/LEG_OSH/The%20Noise%20Pollution%20(Regulation%20and %20Control)%20Rules,%202000.pdf
  • 8. 8 Why this Table is Important? How loud is dangerous?(Typical dbA levels) http://www.niohenvis.nic.in/statistics/LEG_OSH/The%20Noise%20Pollution%20(Regulation%20and%20Control)%20Rules ,%202000.pdf Most of the Sound level measuring devices use the A-weighting as it suppresses the hum components.
  • 9. 9 The road taken New Delhi : North-West Delhi(Rohini) -> Wazirpur Industrial Area -> Outer ring road towards Naraina -> Dhaula Kuan -> Subroto Park -> NH-8 towards Gurgaon. Stay at office and then take the same route back in car. New York : Upper east side(Yorkville) -> 77 st. subway station -> subway -> 57 st. midtown Manhattan. Stay at office and take the same route back. (A lot of walking and exposure to road traffic is also involved) San Francisco : Glen Park -> BART station -> BART -> Mission Street -> Stay in office and take the same route back. (A lot of walking and exposure to road traffic is also involved)
  • 11. 11 Observations The results are conspicuous. The early hustle bustle of the morning makes New Delhi a lively city but as you move into the day the blaring loudspeakers for appeasing the gods, incessant honking on roads, traffic jams cause a lot of stress. One thing to note is the office culture, in US a typical business consulting office is quiet but same is not the case in Delhi, people love to visit each other on their cubicles and chat or dont necessarily book a meeting room for a discussion. The moment you step out of the office, you will go through the same torture of noise as you did in the morning.