Published on 02:11 PM, March 27, 2022

Dhaka world's noisiest city, Rajshahi 4th on list: UN report

Among top 5 noisiest cities, four from South Asia

Dhaka is the world's noisiest city, according to a latest report of the United Nations Environment Programme.

The report styled, "Frontiers 2022: Noise, Blazes and Mismatches" found that Bangladesh's capital Dhaka topped the list while India's Moradabad of Uttar Pradesh and Islamabad of Pakistan are the second and third position in the list.

The report reveals on noise pollution globally that among the top five noisiest cities, Rajshahi is at the fourth while Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam at fifth position.

Among the top five noisiest cities, top four are from the South Asia.

The report, however, did not mention how the data was collected and how many areas of Dhaka were measured.

According to World Health Organisation's guidelines, the report says, the permissible noise level limits are 55 dB (decibels) for outdoor residential areas and 70 dB for commercial areas, and where there's traffic.

In Dhaka, the noise levels have been found to be 119 db and for Rajshahi 103 db.

The report said, "Exposure to environmental noise sources such as road traffic, air traffic, railways, machinery, industry and recreational activities have well-documented negative impacts on physical and mental well-being."