Speaker
Description
Road traffic noise is a major contributor to environmental noise pollution in Indian urban environments, where its severity is driven by highly heterogeneous traffic conditions. These include high traffic volumes, mixed vehicular composition, variable speed and acceleration patterns, frequent lane changes, and extensive honking. Such characteristics create complex, non-stationary acoustic environments that are not adequately represented by conventional traffic noise models.This study aims to quantify and demonstrate the severity and complexity of traffic noise in Indian cities. Field measurements were conducted in New Delhi across multiple street typologies and land-use categories. A total of 720 short-term noise recordings, each of 10-minute duration, were collected. These recordings were analysed using standard environmental noise descriptors along with psychoacoustic indicators.The dataset was further classified into 18 distinct noise environment categories, reflecting a high degree of acoustic variability and complexity. The analysis identifies honking as a dominant impulsive component, significantly elevating overall noise levels and contributing to increased perceptual disturbance.The findings highlight that traffic noise in Indian cities is both quantitatively high and qualitatively complex, underscoring the limitations of existing assessment frameworks. The study emphasises the need for context-specific noise prediction models tailored to heterogeneous traffic systems, along with targeted interventions to regulate honking behaviour. These insights are critical for developing effective noise management strategies in India and other rapidly urbanising regions with similar transportation dynamics.