Chidananda Prasad Das, Shreerup Goswami, Bibhu Prasad Panda, Bijay Kumar Swain, Mira Das
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound global repercussions, leading to substantial fatalities and economic losses worldwide. However, amidst these adversities, the pandemic inadvertently offered a unique opportunity to assess the impact of reduced human activity on environmental noise levels. This study focuses on monitoring and mapping noise pollution levels at 101 locations managed by the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India, during three distinct periods: pre-COVID, during COVID-lockdown, and post-COVID. Using ArcGIS 10.2.1, noise data are spatially analysed across different zones designated by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), namely Industrial, Commercial, Residential, and Silence Zones. The findings reveal a significant reduction in traffic noise during the COVID-19 lockdown period compared to both pre-COVID and post-COVID periods across all four zones. To assess the potential impact on human health, the study employs equations developed by Miedema and Vos (Acoust Soc Am 104:3432–3445, 1998, https://doi.org/10.1121/1.423927) for calculating percentages of highly annoyed individuals and estimating sleeping disorders. Additionally, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is applied to explore associations between noise levels and health outcomes across different time periods. Despite the significant reduction in traffic noise observed during the COVID-19 lockdown, our analysis suggests that this decrease did not have a statistically significant effect on annoyance levels (p-value: 0.0542) or sleeping disorders (p-value: 0.121). This study provides valuable insights into the unintended consequences of urban lockdowns on environmental noise pollution and their potential implications for public health and urban planning.
期刊介绍:
International Journal of Environmental Research is a multidisciplinary journal concerned with all aspects of environment. In pursuit of these, environmentalist disciplines are invited to contribute their knowledge and experience. International Journal of Environmental Research publishes original research papers, research notes and reviews across the broad field of environment. These include but are not limited to environmental science, environmental engineering, environmental management and planning and environmental design, urban and regional landscape design and natural disaster management. Thus high quality research papers or reviews dealing with any aspect of environment are welcomed. Papers may be theoretical, interpretative or experimental.