Noise in the city and its impact on health
- Open data
- Jan 25
- 2 mins
Oriol Pàmies Jaume, texts / Carles Javierre Kohan, infographics
Repeated exposure to noise is considered a major public health issue due to its effects on people’s health and well-being. Consequently, it is becoming a growing concern. As a physical pollutant, noise is the second most impactful environmental factor on public health in European countries, following air pollution. Barcelona has assessed the scale of the problem, which affects more than half of its population, and is developing plans to tackle it as part of its strategy to improve environmental quality.

The impact on health
The Barcelona Public Health Agency has estimated that around 16% of the adult population in the municipality suffers from severe annoyance, while 4% experience severe sleep disorders due to traffic-related environmental noise. Noise in the city is also estimated to contribute to 5% of new cases of ischaemic heart disease and 3% of deaths from this condition. In addition, there are studies, pending further exploration, that suggest potential effects on children’s cognitive development.

Reference thresholds
To better understand the issue and evaluate corrective measures, the guidelines from the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Europe are often used as a reference, which outline specific thresholds beyond which noise is considered to have potential health impacts.


The situation in Barcelona
Noise pollution in the city is high, although not greater than in other Mediterranean cities of similar size. Road traffic is by far the primary source of noise. Noise generated by night-time leisure activities is much less significant and more localised.


Perception of noise
Almost half of the population perceives their neighbourhood as very noisy, and one in four residents feels that their home is affected by external noise. On average, noise ranks as the third most serious issue, following concerns about insecurity and cleanliness.



Combating noise pollution
The acoustic capacity map is used to manage noise levels and ensure a quieter, healthier environment. Its goal is to avoid, prevent or reduce noise pollution that affects residents and improve acoustic quality of the area. Each zone is assigned permissible noise limits, grouped into different levels of acoustic sensitivity (high, moderate and low), based on three time periods: daytime, evening and night.


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