Assessment of Noise Pollution Indices in the City of Kolhapur, India

Noise pollution, in the recent times, has been well recognized as one of the major trepidations that impact the quality of life in urban areas across the globe. Kolhapur, an ancient city of India, is rapidly emerging as industrialized and urbanized city and has started facing severe noise pollution problems. Day-time urban noise quality assessment was studied in Kolhapur for five critical zones viz. Educational, Commercial-cum-residential, Industrial-cum-residential, Recreational and Silence zone. Noise pollution indices viz. L10, L50, L90, noise climate (NC), equivalent continuous noise level (Leq), noise pollution level (Lnp) and noise exposure index (NEI) were computed for all zones. Results indicated that the highest Leq of 72.25 dBA was observed in industrial-cum-residential zone followed by 64.47 dBA in commercial-cum-residential zone, 63.71 dBA in educational zone, 53.26 dBA in recreational zone and 42.84 dBA in silence zone. For educational zone, Leq observed were above the statutory limits, while for other zones it was marginally below. The noise assessment study clearly revealed the alarming condition of noise pollution in Kolhapur.