Measurement of Noise Level in Urban area; A case study of Bahawalpur City, Pakistan

Abstract

The urban noise pollution is a global problem that creates the mental, social and health problems. This study measured the noise level of Bahawalpur City in 2013, compares with standards and analyzes the spatial temporal distribution of noise level in study area. 21 samples were selected from the commercial areas of the Bahawalpur City. The data was collected by using a digital sound level meter in different times is day (morning, afternoon, evening) from 19 to 23 October. The structured questionnaires were filled through random sampling technique. The data were analyzed in SPSS software and apply different techniques such as Chisquare, mean, standard deviation, level of minimum and level of maximum. The data was compared with standard and measured the spatial and temporal distribution of noise level through GIS techniques such as interpolation, Kriging, Charts by the Arc GIS 10. The results show that the rate of noise is high in study area. The level of maximum noise is pollution in morning was 106.8, maximum noise level in afternoon was 115.4 and maximum noise level in evening was 110.2 it’s exceeding with the standards. The present study suggests to increase the green space, government should launch a media campaign to raise awareness on control the noise pollution. This study is helpful for urban planning and decision making in protection departments.