Firecracker noise hit 117dB in city

Maximum noise levels of 117 dB were recorded during Diwali celebrations in Mumbai, with noise pollution exceeding legal limits before and after the designated time window for fireworks. The Awaaz Foundation and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board documented the noise levels at various locations in the city.

Mumbai: The maximum noise levels recorded by fireworks touched 117 decibels (dB) at around 9:55pm on Marine Drive on Sunday evening, recorded by the anti-noise campaigning Awaaz Foundation. “The highest noise levels were recorded when serial bombs and loud aerial bombs were burst continuously,” said Sumaira Abdulali, founder.

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The city was at the highest this year, after 2017, which also saw a maximum of 117 dB at Marine Drive. The highest before was recorded in 2015, at 123dB.

However, they recorded noise pollution from firecrackers before and after the high court’s mandated time window for bursting firecrackers which was 8pm to 10pm. At 7:45pm, crackers were already causing a ruckus at 99dB in Shivaji Park, Dadar, formerly a silent zone and currently a residential zone. Which went on till 11:45pm, at 95 dB.

At Marine Drive, because of the police presence who acted on Abdulali’s complaint, the bursting of firecrackers was clamped down after 10:05pm. Some people were also detained. A resident, Ashok Gupta corroborated this, with the exception of a few sporadic bursts till 1am.

“There were fewer aerial crackers overall than the last three years, this time including mostly chakris, anars, and sparklers. However, loud serial crackers increased the decibel level at the actual point of use in some places,” said Abdulali. The Awaaz Foundation, however, recorded the noise levels only at four places in the city at different times.

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) also recorded noise pollution levels in 45 locations in the city. 26 of these locations saw an increase in the average noise levels over the night before Diwali and on Diwali day. Kandivali saw the most increase overnight between Saturday and Sunday, jumping 22.9dB from 60.6 on the previous day to 74.5 dB. On Diwali, the average noise at Nariman point jumped to 85.4dB from 75.2 the previous day.