Evaluation and analysis of traffic noise in different zones of Faisalabad – an industrial city of Pakistan

Abstract

Noise is surely one of the most undesirable by-products of the modern mechanized lifestyle. We see the rush and the fights between the masses relating to the traffic laws everywhere, their violations and their after-shocks. To assess the noise levels in busy roads of Faisalabad, a study was conducted at three different times of a day i.e. morning (9:00 am), noon (3:00 pm) and evening (6:00 pm). Out of a total of 85 sites, 6 sites at morning time, 52 sites at noon time and 27 sites at evening time were exceeding the permissible limit set by Pak-EPA (NEQS). The maximum noise levels recorded were 101.7 dB (A) at State Bank Road, 107.9 dB(A) at Jhal Pull and 107.9 dB(A) at Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI) at morning, noon and evening, respectively. At the same time, the minimum noise levels recorded were 68.3(A) dB at Jhang Bazar, 75.7 dB(A) at Nishat Abad Pull and 71.3 dB (A) was at Jamia Chistian Chowk in morning, noon and evening, respectively. Overall maximum noise level of 107.9 dB(A) was found at two sites, and the minimum noise level was 68.3 dB(A).

Keywords:

• Noise
• road traffic
• Faisalabad
• mechanize
• frequency

Introduction

Noise is any undesirable sound which creates a disturbance. It comprises all the sounds in our communities that create nuisance and disturbance in the specific environment. Noise is a constant threat to human health (Nawaz & Hasnain, 2013), and it will continuously grow because of continuous development of infrastructure and transportation evolution in the roads and air traffic (Allen et al., 2009; Ausejo, Recuero, Asensio, Pavon, & Lopez, 2010; Brainard, Jones, Bateman, & Lovett, 2004; Ehrampoush, Halvani, Barkhordari, & Zare, 2012; Fang & Ling, 2003; Geurs & Wee, 2006; Li & Tao, 2004; Li, Tao, & Dawson, 2002; Ross et al., 2011). The potential health effects include impairment of health, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and raised blood pressure which effect on residential, social, working and learning behaviour. It reduces sleeping, working concentration, communication and recreation attitude (Goines & Hagler, 2007; Stansfeld & Matheson, 2003).

Traffic noise is the most important source of environmental annoyance (Cerda, Lacatis, & Gimenez, 2013; Fang & Ling, 2005; Ising & Kruppa, 2004; Weber, 2012). Humans are the main responsible for changing world’s acoustic background with its own produced sounds with different pitch and amplitudes. These sounds are hazardous for organisms particularly birds. Noise reduces nesting species density/population richness in different avian communities due to the alternation of predator–prey interactions (Calixto, Diniz, & Zannin, 2003; Francis, Ortega, & Cruz, 2009; Golmohammadi, Abbaspour, Nassiri, & Mahjub, 2009; Hosseini, Parsakhoo, & Seifi, 2012; Khan & Ali, 2014; Martins, Godinho, & Picado-Santos, 2013; Oyedepo, Abdullahi, & Abdullahi, 2010; Sharma, Bodhe, & Schimak, 2014). As far as the effects on humans are concerned, the studies in the city of Curitiba, Brazil also showed that 93.3% locations displayed over 65 dB noise and 40.3% locations measured display over 75 dB noise level (Zannin, Diniz, & Barbosa, 2002).

Noise in hospitals and schools is also a serious problem. Noise levels are also above the permissible limits prescribed by the WHO. A study in Chandigarh, India, up to 80 dB noise level was measured at the emergency and around. About 74% of the total hospital patients said that they have irritation due to loud noise, 40% reported a headache, 29% reported a loss of sleep and 8% reported hypertension (Allen & Adar, 2011; Atkinson, 1905; Belojevic & Saric-Tanaskovic, 2002; Khaiwal et al., 2016; Peterson, Augenstein, Tanis, & Augenstein, 1981; Quis, 1999). The same was also found in Karachi, Pakistan, that noise levels were higher during mornings and evenings because of the school and offices timings. Maximum noise level was found over 101 dB, which is close to 110 dB which cause hearing impairment (Zafar, Anjum, Anjum, Iftikhar, & Manzar, 2015).

Faisalabad is the Manchester of Pakistan, and it is called so because of the textile industry. Its population is also increasing due to employment and better living standards. Besides this, Faisalabad is also facing some serious threats like air and noise pollution due to heavy traffic. The noise level of different cities of Pakistan is shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Noise levels in different cities of Pakistan.

Sr. No.	Name of the city	Noise levels Recorded as dB(A)
		Max.	Min.	Avg.
1	Gujranwala	100.0	41.0	72.5
2	Faisalabad	100.0	47.0	72.0
3	Islamabad	104.5	47.0	72.5
4	Rawalpindi	108.5	48.0	72.5
5	Karachi	88.9	62.4	76.5
6	Peshawar	708.5	68.2	86.0

Keeping in view the above-mentioned facts, a study was planned to check the status of noise levels on different roads of Faisalabad, and the values were compared with National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS).

Material and methods

This study area Faisalabad stands in the rolling flat plains of north-east Punjab, between longitude 73°74 east and latitude 30°31.5 north. In this study, 85 sites were selected for noise level measurements during rush hours of the morning, noon and evening during summer 2016. Noise levels were measured from five categories of zones, i.e., residential, commercial, industrial, traffic junctions and silent zones as per Pak-EPA and CPCB drafts zones during rush hours of the morning, noon and evening times. A digital Sound Level Meter model 40477 made by the Ex-tech of type 2 with a frequency range of 31.5 Hz–8000 Hz was used which can measure noise level between 0 and 150 dB and calibrated at 100 dB (A). All readings were taken at 1.5 m height from the ground (Ghafoor et al., 2012) and 7.5 m away from the source (Pak-EPA). From each site, five readings were taken, and their means were used. For the assessment of results, following sound parameters were used,

•	LAeq = A-weighted sound equivalent sound level.
•	Lmax and Lmin at morning, noon and evening time.
•	Tf = Traffic frequency.
•	Lm, Ln and Le = Average sound level at morning, noon and evening.

To develop a noise risk zones of Faisalabad City, an evaluation criterion was adopted that creates six zones based on noise intensity (Banerjee, Chakraborty, Bhattacharyya, & Gangopadhyay, 2008). The criteria are mentioned in Table 2.

Table 2. Noise risk zone criteria used for the present study.

Intensity of noise in dB (A)	Zones
Less than 66	Safe
66–71	Tolerable
71–76	Low risk
76–81	Moderate risk
81–86	High risk
Greater than 86	Extremely high risk

Results and discussion

Sampling locations were divided into sub-categories described by Pak-EPA, i.e., industrial area, commercial area, silent zone, residential area and traffic intersections. The analysis was done based on rush hours at temporal basis (morning, noon and evening times).

Industrial zones

These areas were selected according to the vicinity of the roads to the industries/industrial areas. The noise levels were varied from 76.8 to 85.7 dB during the morning, 75.7 to 97.3 dB at noon and 74.9 to 98.6 dB at evening time. The different noise levels of the industrial zone have shown in Table 3. Maximum noise level recorded was 98.6 dB at Adah Bawa Chak in the evening as this area has many small and large scale industries while the minimum level was recorded 74.9 dB at Faisalabad-Jhang Road in the evening time. The average noise level in dB of the industrial zones is shown in Figure 1 along with their location.

Table 3. Three Times Noise Index Values in the categorized areas.

	Industrial zones
Locations	LAeq (Mean)			Lmax			Lmin			Tf
	M*	N	E	M*	N	E	M*	N	E	M*	N	E
Nishat Abad Pull	76.8	75.7	85.4	78.9	79.1	89.4	72.7	70.2	80.1	183	229	154
Abdullah Pur Pull	82.2	90.7	76.8	85.3	93.4	79.5	78.3	88.5	71.0	132	581	184
Tezab Mill Chowk	83.7	94.5	87.0	85.5	95.0	89.3	81.3	89.5	81.1	142	267	144
Fsd-Jhang Road	84.4	95.0	74.9	86.5	97.3	78.5	81.4	89.6	71.4	153	265	264
Millat Chowk	83.6	91.3	81.1	87.3	93.8	86.3	79.4	88.4	81.2	94	245	175
Jamia Chistian Chowk	85.7	93.5	93.3	87.5	94.3	96.4	80.3	90.8	92.3	74	735	224
Bole Di Jhuggi	84.1	93.5	93.3	88.4	95.6	97.9	81.3	90.3	90.4	92	193	246
Addah Bawa Chak	85.5	91.4	98.6	89.8	94.3	99.3	82.3	89.1	97.6	83	165	164
Lal Mill Chowk	82.1	91.5	98.6	85.6	94.2	99.4	79.2	88.8	96.5	94	321	175
Novelty Pull.	85.2	97.3	85.6	87.7	98.6	89.5	83.4	96.2	83.8	83	418	196
Chiniot-Sargodha Rd.	82.6	82.7	92.0	88.2	88.5	95.3	80.3	76.9	90.3	103	57	190
Means	83.25	90.84	85.3	85.7	97.3	98.6	76.8	75.5	74.9	112	316	192
Standard Errors	2.48			6.32			7.15			–

Notes:

L_Aeq = A-weighted sound equivalent sound level, L_max and L_min at morning, noon and evening time, T_f = traffic frequency, M*¹ = morning, N*² = noon, E*³ = evening.

Figure 1. Average noise level of a day in industrial zone.

Commercial zones

As Faisalabad is an urban area, commercial places are spread all over the city. These can be isolated shops at the roadside or markets/supermarkets in colonies, bazaars, etc. The commercial areas are present almost every side of the roads, and mostly sellers also occupy the footpaths. The noise levels in these areas varied from 68.3 to 95.3 dB. The noise levels were varied from 68.3 to 85.3 dB during the morning, 77.3 to 98.9 dB and 75.0 to 95.3 dB at noon and evening time, respectively. Although some sites showed low levels of noise but mostly showed noise levels which were over the limits of NEQS. Table 4 shows the noise index of different commercial areas.

Table 4. Three Times Noise Index Values in the categorized area.

Commercial areas
Locations	LAeq (Mean)			Lmax			Lmin			Tf
	M*	N	E	M*	N	E	M*	N	E	M*	N	E
S.B Store Road	74.9	83.4	79.0	78.4	86.3	82.2	71.2	79.7	76.7	102	155	254
Sandal Bar Hotel	81.1	90.0	92.3	83.2	93.2	94.1	79.7	88.4	87.3	94	390	241
Mcdonalds	81.5	91.5	76.8	83.2	93.6	78.3	78.4	88.3	72.4	98	224	265
Kohinoor Plaza	83.4	91.7	93.5	85.1	95.3	95.7	81.1	89.5	89.7	142	324	274
Clock Tower	83.1	93.4	75.0	85.4	95.2	77.3	79.4	89.1	71.4	193	188	176
Standard Chartered Bank, Gumti Chowk	84.6	93.5	83.4	86.3	95.2	85.7	79.3	89.1	78.1	201	264	166
Katchehri Bazar	81.0	98.4	95.3	83.9	99.3	97.1	76.4	93.5	91.3	204	117	243
Rail Bazar	83.7	89.4	95.3	86.1	92.1	97.2	79.1	85.3	91.6	192	180	182
Karkhana Bazar	85.3	93.7	90.3	87.1	95.1	93.6	81.3	89.4	88.3	238	210	192
Jhang Bazar	68.3	77.3	82.2	71.3	79.2	84.2	67.3	73.3	78.6	172	186	265
Amin Pur Bazar	78.0	87.8	85.2	80.1	89.1	87.5	73.4	83.3	81.3	203	178	120
Bhowana Bazar	79.1	91.8	83.6	80.2	93.5	85.6	75.3	88.3	78.3	132	43	194
Chiniot Bazar	78.5	98.9	84.6	80.6	99.8	86.3	74.2	95.2	80.7	173	120	197
Mintgomri Bazar	68.3	76.8	84.6	71.5	78.9	87.5	65.5	73.4	80.2	234	82	176
Sumana Pull	78.2	78.8	81.8	81.4	83.2	82.2	73.3	72.5	76.4	157	143	187
Metro Cash and Carry	98.1	89.7	78.6	99.7	91.4	81.1	95.3	84.6	75.5	147	193	134
Sitara Tower	72.5	89.9	81.7	73.3	90.3	84.1	69.9	86.3	78.5	187	90	42
Treat Bakers Road	73.9	83.2	77.9	75.3	86.4	79.2	69.7	80.1	74.5	106	327	143
Means	78.9	89.4	84.8	85.3	98.9	95.3	68.3	77.3	75.0	165	190	192
Standard Errors	4.95			6.06			5.84			–

Notes:

L_Aeq = A-weighted sound equivalent sound level, L_max and L_min at morning, noon and evening time, T_f = traffic frequency, M*¹ = morning, N*² = noon, E*³ = evening.

The minimum noise level was at morning time which was 68.3 dB at the site of Jhang Bazar, Rajbah Road and Mintgomri bazar while maximum noise level of 95.3 dB was observed at Rail Bazar Gumti Chowk on evening time because area is situated by government offices like District Coordination Officer’s office, District Council, TMA office, Irrigation Department Offices and Environment Protection Office. All the employees of these offices use this square to move to their homes and offices in the evening. Figure 2 shows the average noise level of the commercial area.

Figure 2. Average noise level of a day in commercial zone.

Residential area

People try to build their homes in peaceful areas but when population increases, the need for houses increases and people tend to make their homes in open places. In these study areas, the noise levels were between 71.3 and 95.7 dB. The Table 5 shows that noise level at morning was 75.0 to 85.3 dB, 84.7 to 94.7 dB at noon and 71.3 to 95.7 dB at evening time. The maximum noise at morning time was 85.3 dB at Jinnah Colony due to the movement of school children/college/university going student’s vans, bikes, rickshaws, etc. At noontime was 94.7 dB at Jattianwala Road, Ghulam Muhammad Abad and at evening time was 95.7 dB in Azam Square and Ghulam Muhammad Abad. Minimum noise at morning time was 75.0 dB at Flats, Susan Road due to the large distance from road and presence of a park in front of flats and corner location from city, noontime was 84.7 dB at Azam Chowk, Ghulam Muhammad Abad and at evening time was 95.7 dB at same place due to the shops/small markets and schools in the residential areas. The average noise level of residential areas is shown in Figure 3, according to location.

Table 5. Three Times Noise Index Values in the categorized areas.

	Residential areas
Locations	LAeq (Mean)			Lmax			Lmin			Tf
	M*	N	E	M	N	E	M	N	E	M	N	E
Flates	75.0	85.3	75.7	78.3	87.6	77.3	71.4	82.3	71.5	163	218	171
Kotwali police Station	80.1	90.3	77.9	87.7	92.4	78.0	78.6	83.9	75.4	98	180	81
Ghazi Chowk	83.7	84.7	95.7	85.5	85.1	97.4	79.3	77.8	88.5	181	225	98
Dera Qaim Shah	82.5	92.6	83.6	83.0	94.6	86.3	79.5	91.3	81.5	177	136	83
Jattian Wala Chowk	82.9	94.7	83.4	85.4	95.0	89.5	81.2	85.6	83.7	201	148	121
Liaqat Chowk	83.3	92.3	71.3	87.5	95.5	87.5	83.2	91.6	79.2	219	168	231
Dhobi Ghat	80.7	90.1	83.7	88.5	94.8	87.5	82.3	78.8	80.2	234	216	271
Jinnah Colony	85.3	91.4	78.1	87.2	93.3	82.3	81.4	82.4	77.2	194	246	162
Lasani Town	79.7	85.7	90.4	83.8	98.6	93.3	77.5	85.4	88.4	264	262	213
Uni. Town	81.5	91.6	89.4	83.5	93.9	87.5	78.5	87.3	82.4	187	125	154
Nalka Kohala	82.1	93.5	81.5	84.8	97.5	88.6	77.3	91.4	79.5	312	196	184
Peoples Colony	83.6	93.6	76.8	87.6	97.0	79.5	78.5	89.9	75.3	205	214	174
D-Type Colony	82.0	87.3	85.6	87.4	91.4	91.9	78.6	83.5	79.3	193	308	107
Means	81.46	90.21	83.75	85.3	94.7	99.5	75.0	84.7	71.3	202	203	158
Standard Errors	2.63			3.27			7.89			–

Notes:

L_Aeq = A-weighted sound equivalent sound level, L_max and L_min at morning, noon and evening time, T_f = traffic frequency, M*¹ = morning, N*² = noon, E*³ = evening.

Figure 3. Average noise level of a day in residential zone.

Traffic intersections

Due to a large population, there is much traffic and heavy infrastructure of roads to facilitate people as well as industries. The noise levels were between 75.4 and 101.7 dB at morning, 82.7–107.2 dB at noon and 69.9–99.5 dB at evening time. Maximum noise at morning time was 101.7 dB at State Bank Road due to the government offices present in that area, noontime was 107.2 dB at the same place and at evening time was 99.5 dB at Jhall Pull. Table 6 shows the minimum noise at morning time that was about 75.4 dB at Susan Road, noontime was 82.7 dB at Chiniot-Sargodha Road, Sadhar Bye-Pass and at evening time was 69.9 dB at Chenab Square due to heavy traffic allowed at evening time only in the city. Figure 4 shows the average noise level at different road intersections of the city.

Table 6. Three Times Noise Index Values in the categorized areas.

	Traffic intersections
Locations	LAeq (Mean)			Lmax			Lmin			Tf
	M	N	E	M	N	E	M	N	E	M	N	E
GTS Chowk	79.1	86.7	81.3	82.3	89.7	85.5	77.2	81.2	78.3	430	1044	834
State Bank Road	101.7	107.2	95.6	104.2	109.4	97.3	97.3	99.7	91.5	252	275	335
Jhall Pull Road	81.8	95.4	99.5	83.3	97.4	100.4	80.3	93.3	97.1	324	390	365
Kashmir Pull	77.9	83.0	93.5	81.8	86.1	95.7	74.6	81.3	91.5	243	234	234
Jaranwala Road	78.8	93.5	85.6	81.3	96.3	87.4	76.4	90.6	84.2	335	552	152
Saleemi Chowk	81.2	92.0	78.8	84.3	95.3	81.4	79.8	89.2	77.1	355	325	234
Susan Road	75.4	83.4	82.1	77.3	85.1	85.6	73.4	82.1	79.4	124	108	241
Faizan e Madina Chowk	75.7	90.3	77.4	78.4	92.4	79.6	73.2	98.7	76.4	204	226	143
Narwala Chowk	79.4	92.4	82.1	81.1	94.2	85.0	76.6	89.6	80.1	246	388	124
General Bus Stand	85.5	97.0	73.9	86.3	98.9	75.5	84.2	95.2	71.7	335	753	234
Allied More	82.2	83.4	76.3	85.3	84.1	79.5	79.3	82.3	77.2	456	785	533
Chenab Chowk	84.4	95.6	69.9	87.3	97.4	72.5	82.2	93.6	69.2	157	280	252
Tanki Wala Chowk	84.5	91.9	84.5	86.5	93.9	87.4	82.5	90.1	82.3	275	172	237
Allied Hospital Main Gate	82.0	91.4	91.4	83.4	92.9	93.1	81.2	90.6	91.1	261	210	154
Iqbal Stadium	79.5	91.4	83.5	81.4	93.9	84.3	78.7	90.3	82.6	174	168	232
Bilal Chowk	82.6	98.8	75.7	84.3	99.6	79.4	82.2	96.8	74.6	175	285	243
Chiniot-Sargodha Road Sadhar By -pass	82.6	82.7	92.0	85.3	85.3	94.1	83.2	81.2	91.6	43	57	168
Means	82.01	91.50	83.71	101.7	107.2	99.5	75.4	82.7	69.9	258	368	300
Standard Errors	5.83			6.48			8.2			–

Notes:

L_Aeq = A-weighted sound equivalent sound level, L_max and L_min at morning, noon and evening time, T_f = traffic frequency, M*¹ = morning, N*² = noon, E*³ = evening.

Figure 4. Average noise level of a day in traffic intersection zone.

Silent zones

In sensitive zones, we considered mostly education institutes like the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Government College, University and Hospitals. The noise levels were between 71.3 and 107.9 dB. The ranges were 71.3–83.6 dB at morning, 83.6–98.9 dB at noon and 77.3–107.9 dB at evening time as shown in Table 7. The maximum noise at morning time was 83.6 dB at Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI), noontime was 98.9 dB at near old board of intermediate and secondary education (BISE) office (Now Kissan Hall, UAF) and at evening time was 107.9 dB at AARI due to vans/rickshaws and bikes of students as this area has many colonies in it and large number of students move through this area. Minimum noise at morning time was 71.3 dB at Zero Point, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, noontime was 83.6 at the same place and at evening time was 77.3 dB at BISE. The average noise level of silent zones of the main points is shown in Figure 5. The classification of study area according to noise range briefly described in Table 8. The results show that noise levels in many areas of the city exceeded the limit of 85 dB (A) as recommended by WHO and NEQS. The exceeding limits cause annoyance and interrupt sleep and cognitive power.

Table 7. Three Times Noise Index Values in the categorized areas.

	Silent zones
Locations	LAeq (Mean)			Lmax			LAeq (Mean)			Lmax
	M*	N*	M*	N*	M*	N*	M	N	E	M	N	E
Zero point, UAF	71.3	83.6	97.1	83.7	81.4	91.3	67.4	76.1	89.3	105	59	35
Govt. general Hospital	76.5	83.8	97.0	78.9	87.3	98.9	71.6	78.6	91.1	172	63	74
GC University	81.7	90.7	88.6	82.3	93.6	88.8	77.3	81.8	80.2	45	24	21
Allied Hospital (Inside)	82.0	91.4	91.4	83.5	94.4	92.9	78.4	89.3	88.4	24	18	45
AARI	83.6	93.0	107.9	84.0	94.7	108.4	76.6	90.0	95.5	187	258	201
Old BISE Office	82.3	98.9	77.3	87.3	100.4	78.8	83.4	91.3	69.9	193	347	192
Means	79.5	90.2	93.2	83.6	98.9	107.9	71.3	83.6	77.3	121	128	95
Standard Errors	4.73			5.82			10.22			–

Notes:

L_Aeq = A-weighted sound equivalent sound level, L_max and L_min at morning, noon and evening time, T_f = traffic frequency, M*¹ = morning, N*² = noon, E*³ = evening.

Figure 5. Average noise level of a day in silent zone.

Table 8. Noise range classification of present study.

Noise exposure level in dB(A)	Areas
	Morning time	Noontime	Evening
<65	None	None	None
66–71	Jhang Bazar, Mintgomri Bazar	None	Chenab Chowk
71–76	Flats, S.B Store Road, Treat Bakers Road, Sitara Tower, Susan Road, Narwala Chowk and Zero Point	Nishat Abad Pull	Flats, Liaqat Chowk, Clock Tower, Fsd-Jhang Road, General Bus Stand, Chenab Chowk, Bilal Chowk
76–81	Lasani Pulli, Chiniot Bazar, Bhowana Bazar, Sumana Pull, Nishat Abad Pull, GTS, Kashmir Pull, Narwala Chowk, Iqbal Stadium, Govt. General Hospital	Jhang Bazar, Mintgomri Bazar, Sumana Pull	Kotwali Police Station, Jinnah Colony, Peoples Colony, S.B Store Road, Mcdonalds and Treat Bakers Roads, Metro, Abdullah Pur Pull, Saleemi Chowk, Faizan e Madina Chowk, Allied More, Old BISE Office
81–85	Ghazi Chowk, Dera Qaim Shah, Jattianwala Road, University Town, Nalka Kohala, Peoples Colony, D-Type Colony, Sandal Bar Hotel, Mcdonalds, Kohinoor Plaza, Clock Tower, Standard Chartered Bank, Katchehry Bazar, Rail Bazar	GhazI Chowk, SB Store Road, Treat Bakers Road, Sadhar Bye-pass, Zero Point and Govt. General Hospital	Dera Qaim Shah, Jattianwala Road, Dhobi Ghat, Nalka Kohala, Standard Chartered Bank, Jhang Bazar, Bhowana Bazar, Chiniot Bazar, Mintgomri Bazar, Sumana Pull, Sitara Tower, Millat Chowk, Jamia Chistian Chowk, Lal Mill Chowk, GTS Chowk, Narwala Chowk, Susan Road, Tanki Wala Chowk, Iqbal Stadium
>85	Jinnah Colony, Metro, Jamia Chistian Chowk, Bawa Chack, Novelty Pull, State Bank Road, General Bus Stand	Flats, Kotwali Police Station, Dera Qaim Shah, Liaqat Chowk, Dhobi Ghat, Jinnah Colony, Lasani Pulli, Uni. Town, Nalka Kohala, Peoples Colony, D-Type Colony, Sandal Bar Hotel, Mcdonalds, Kohinoor Plaza, Clock Tower, Standard Chartered Bank, Katchehry Bazar, Rail Bazar, Karkhana Bazar, Aminpur, Bhowana and Chiniot Bazars, Metro and Sitara Tower, Abdullah Pur Pull, Tezab Mill Chowk, Millat Chowk, Fsd-Jhang Road, Boly Di Jhuggi, Jamia Chistia Chowk, Bawa Chak, Lal Mill Chowk, Novelty Pull, GTS Chowk, State Bank and Jhall Pull Roads, Jaranwala Road, Saleemi Chowk, Narwala Chowk, Faizan E Madina Chowk, General Bus Stand, Chenab Chowk, Tanki Wala Chowk, Allied Hospital, Iqbal Stadium, Bilal Chowk, GC Uni, Allied Hospital Gate, AARI, Old BISE Office	Ghazi Chowk, Lasani Pulli, Uni. Town, D-Type Colony, Sandal Bar Hotel, Kohinoor Plaza, Katchehry Bazar, Rail Bazar, Karkhana Bazar, Amin Pur Bazar, Tezab Mill Chowk, Nishat Abad Pull, Boly Di Jhuggi, Bawa Chack, Novelty Pull, Sadhar Bye-pass, State Bank Road, Jhall Pull, Kashmir Pull, Jaranwala Road, Allied Hospital Gate, Sadhar Bye-pass, Zero Point, Govt. General Hospital, GC Uni., Allied Hospital, AARI

Notes:

Sixty-five locations where traffic noise and vehicular count were conducted are grouped into six impact ranges based on their noise level.

Conclusion

Noise assessment presented in this study has revealed that even in an industrial city such as Faisalabad, noise levels are higher than the limits set up by Pak-EPA in terms of NEQS. The study shows that most of the areas of city have subjected to unacceptable noise, and the noise level was high as 70–95 dB which is too high than the limits. High noise levels in well-developed and organized areas like residential apartments, shopping areas are a major concern. This is due to more use of the roads alongside it by all types of public, commercial, loader trucks and private transport vehicles. It is a fact that immediate mitigation measures are required to control the high road traffic noise emissions. Mitigation measures include maintenance of automobiles, regular servicing, and tuning of vehicles, fixing of silencers, installation of controlling barriers between noise source and receiver. Other measures include raising the awareness among the local community and strict enforcement of laws.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.