Dynamic noise mapping of road traffic in an urban city

This study is an attempt to analyse the spatial distribution of traffic noise levels in the city of Delhi through the creation of noise maps with the help of GIS. Field measurements were conducted at 10 locations consisting of different land-use patterns. It was observed that the measured ambient noise levels at all the locations were violating the prescribed limits as prescribed by CPCB. Noise levels were found to be in proportion to the vehicular population. Noise level values obtained from the developed noise maps have given very close results to the measured values. The percentage difference between the predicted noise level and the monitored noise level was found to be between 4 and 7%. This study will help the concerned authorities to identify the hot spots of noise within the city and to take appropriate actions to curb the noise pollution in those particular areas. © 2021, Saudi Society for Geosciences.