EU can't cope with noise pollution
According to the European Environment Agency, this is noise above the permissible limits, defined as an annual average level of more than 55 decibels during the day (day- evening-night) and more than 50 decibels at night.
Noise as a threat to health
Prolonged exposure to noisy environments is not only associated with discomfort, writes Euronews. Experts note a direct link between transportation noise and the development of cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders and deterioration of mental state.
Each year in Europe recorded about 66 thousand premature deaths, which are associated with the constant exposure to noise. There are also tens of thousands of new cases of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
The situation with children is particularly alarming. Experts estimate that in one year alone, traffic noise has contributed to hundreds of thousands of cases of impaired reading skills, tens of thousands of behavioral disorders, and hundreds of thousands of episodes of childhood obesity.
Traffic – cars, motorcycles, vans and other vehicles – is the biggest contributor. It affects about 92 million people. Railroads rank second (about 18 million people), and air transportation rounds out the top three – about 2.6 million people are overexposed to aircraft noise.
Noisiest EU countries
The problem is most noticeable in France. More than 20 million inhabitants of the country live in conditions where the level of street noise exceeds the safe threshold. The situation is particularly difficult in Corsica and in the regions bordering Italy.
In Italy, railroad noise is the most acute issue, with about 5.3 million people exposed to it, the highest in Europe.
In Germany, aviation noise plays a major role, with almost one million people living in areas of high exposure.
When looking at the proportion of the population affected by noise, Luxembourg (62%) and Cyprus (58%) lead the way. Among large countries, France is also among the leaders, with 36% of the population exposed to excessive noise. By comparison, in Italy this figure is around 25% and in Germany 26%.
The quietest countries are Slovakia, Portugal and Estonia, followed by Greece. However, even in quieter countries, the problem does not completely disappear: in Estonia, for example, about 3% of the population is exposed to dangerous levels of noise at night.
Meanwhile, only about a third of Europeans have access to green and relatively quiet areas within 400 meters of their homes, making recovery and recreation difficult.
Is there progress?
In 2021, the EU approved the “Towards Zero Pollution” action plan to reduce the number of people affected by transportation noise by 30% by 2030 (compared to 2017). However, the actual reduction in recent years has only amounted to about 3%.
Specialists emphasize: to achieve the goals, it is necessary to influence first of all the sources of noise. Effective measures include reducing traffic speeds in cities, upgrading road surfaces, regular treatment of railway rails and optimizing aircraft take-off and landing routes, taking into account residential areas.
The problem of noise pollution remains massive and requires comprehensive solutions to make Europe not only greener but also quieter, Euronews notes.
