Exposure of Europe’s population to environmental noise

Environmental noise remains a major problem in Europe, with at least 20% of the EU population living in areas where noise levels are considered harmful to health. Most of the people affected live in urban areas. Road traffic is by far the most dominant source of environmental noise. The number of people exposed to high levels of environmental noise has broadly remained stable since 2012. A key commitment of the European Commission’s zero-pollution ambition is to reduce the share of people chronically disturbed by transport noise by 30% by 2030, compared with 2017.

Estimated number of people exposed to unhealthy noise levels, based on Environmental Noise Directive thresholds, in the EU in 2007, 2012 and 2017

Chronic exposure to environmental noise significantly affects physical and mental health. This indicator provides an overview of the estimated number of people in Europe exposed to environmental noise above the threshold levels set by the Environmental Noise Directive (2002/49/EC) in both urban and non-urban areas. According to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, exposure to these noise levels can have adverse effects on health.

The major source of noise pollution in both urban and non-urban areas is road traffic. According to 2017 noise-mapping data, more than 95 million people in the EU are affected by road noise levels of 55 dB or more during the day-evening-night period (L_den), and more than 65 million are affected by levels of 50 dB or more during the night (L_night). Noise from railways and aircraft has a much lower impact in terms of the overall population, but both are significant sources of local noise pollution.

Trends are difficult to establish because of methodology-related comparability issues between the reporting years (2007, 2012 and 2017) and must be interpreted with caution. However, comparisons of 2012 and 2017 data suggest that the number of people exposed to harmful noise levels has remained stable for most sources. Small increases are observed for road, railway and aircraft noise inside urban areas, both during the day-evening-night and night-time periods. A more significant increase is observed for aircraft noise outside urban areas at night. However, as noise from aircraft affects far fewer people than road or rail traffic noise, the number of additional people affected is relatively low.

Efforts to reduce exposure to noise from individual sources may be offset by continuing migration to urban areas, which results in increases in population, activity and traffic levels. An increased demand for passenger and goods transport also hampers efforts to reduce environmental noise.

As no significant decrease in the number of people exposed to harmful noise levels has been observed over time, the Seventh Environment Action Programme objective to significantly reduce noise pollution in the EU and move closer to WHO-recommended levels by 2020 has not been achieved. A key commitment of the European Commission’s zero-pollution ambition is to reduce the share of people chronically disturbed by transport noise by 30% by 2030, compared with 2017.

Estimated percentage of inhabitants within urban areas exposed to unhealthy road traffic noise levels, based on Environmental Noise Directive thresholds, in 2017 in the EEA member countries and the United Kingdom

About 70 million people in the 32 EEA member countries (not including Greece or Turkey) plus the United Kingdom are estimated to be exposed to harmful levels of road traffic noise in urban areas.

Although it is difficult to make comparisons between countries’ urban areas, because of the use of different noise-mapping methodologies (e.g. some countries map all streets in cities, while some map only the busiest streets), it is clear that in most urban areas in Europe a large number of people are exposed to unhealthy levels of road traffic noise. At least 20% of the urban population of all countries is exposed to levels above 55 dB L_den, which is above the WHO-recommended level, while, in more than half of the countries, at least 50% of the urban population is exposed to unhealthy levels of road traffic noise. Therefore, road traffic noise in urban areas is not a problem in only a few countries, but a widespread problem across Europe.

Supporting information

Definition

This indicator presents the estimated number of people exposed to harmful levels of environmental noise from industry, roads with more than 3 million vehicles per year, railways with more than 30,000 railway movements per year and airports with more than 50,000 air traffic movements per year, and in urban areas with more than 100,000 inhabitants. In accordance with the lowest available values used in noise mapping for measuring noise pollution under the END, 55 dB for the day-evening-night period and 50 dB for the night-time period were used as threshold values for the indicator.

Methodology

Methodology for indicator calculation

This indicator is based on data reported by EU Member States in accordance with Directive 2002/49/EC (the END). In addition, we present a disaggregated assessment for road traffic noise which includes EEA member countries (excluding Turkey) plus the United Kingdom. The data used cover noise sources such as roads with more than 3 million vehicle passages a year, railways with more than 30 000 train passages per year and airports with more than 50,000 aircraft movements per year, as well as all roads, railways, airports and industries in urban areas with more than 100,000 inhabitants. The indicator mainly focuses on the number of people exposed to noise levels of 55 dB or higher during the day-evening-night period and to night-time noise levels of 50 dB or higher. These reporting thresholds, i.e. 55 dB L_den and 50 dB L_night, are above the thresholds recommended by the WHO (2018). This means that in reality more people may be exposed to unhealthy noise levels than those reported to be exposed on the basis of the current END thresholds.

It should be noted that, for the data presented in this indicator, countries have used a wide variety of calculation methods and approaches in developing their noise maps. Therefore, the results of the different countries or years generated by different prediction methods may not be fully comparable and therefore trends reported should be interpreted with caution.

To avoid the double counting of the population, the numbers of people exposed to noise are presented separately for each source in Figure 1.

Methodology for gap filling

Because of the incomplete reporting of the data by some countries, gap filling was performed to complete any missing information and ensure a full assessment of environmental noise in Europe. Detailed information on the gap-filling methodology can be found in ETC/ATNI (2021). Detailed completeness of the data by country can be seen in the EEA noise fact sheets. The following agglomerations in Figure 2 were modelled: Bruges; Charleroi; Liege; Nicosia; Limassol; Alicante; Baix Llobregat I; Barcelones I; Barcelones II; Cordoba; Gijon; Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; Malaga; Murcia; Palma de Mallorca; Santa Cruz de Tenerife; Sevilla; Valladolid; Zaragoza; Baix Llobregat II; Albacete; Alcorcon; Algeciras; Almeria; Cadiz; Castellon de la Plana; Dos Hermanas; Elche; Girones; Jaen; Leganes; Logrono; Marbella; Mostoles; Salamanca; San Cristobal de La Laguna; Tarragona; Torrejon de Ardoz; Valles Occidental I; Valles Occidental II; Parla; Telde; Bethune; Bordeaux; Clermont-Ferrand; Douai - Lens; Grenoble; Lille; Lyon; Marseille; Metz; Montpellier; Nancy; Nantes; Orleans; Rennes; Rouen; Toulon; Toulouse; Tours; Valenciennes; Avignon; Saint-Etienne; Amiens; Angers; Angouleme; Annecy; Bayonne; Besancon; Brest; Caen; Calais; Chambery; Dijon; Dunkerque; La Rochelle; Le Havre; Le Mans; Limoges; Lorient; Maubeuge; Montbeliard; Mulhouse; Nimes; Pau; Perpignan; Poitiers Reims; Saint-Nazaire; Thionville; Troyes; Valence; Annemasse; Arras; Aubergenville; Beauchamp; Cannes; Hénin-Beaumont; Lens; Orsay; Roissy-en-France; Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois; Torcy; Trappes; Versailles;; Naples; Perugia; Pescara; Salerno; Bergen; Galati; Targu Mures; Kosicka.

Policy/environmental relevance

Context description

Chronic exposure to environmental noise has significant impacts on physical and mental health. The WHO has identified noise as the second most significant environmental cause of ill health in western Europe, the first being air pollution. Exposure to environmental noise can lead to annoyance, stress reactions, sleep disturbance, poor mental health and well-being, and cognitive impairment in children, and can have negative effects on the cardiovascular and metabolic systems.

In 2018, the WHO published new guidelines on environmental noise for the European region. These guidelines include recommendations for different types of transport sources. For instance, the WHO recommends that noise exposure from road traffic should not exceed 53 dB during the day-evening-night period and 45 dB during the night to avoid adverse consequences on health. The recommended values for rail are 54 dB during the day-evening-night period and 44 dB during the night. The recommendations for aircraft are that noise levels should not exceed 45 dB during the day-evening-night period and 40 dB during the night.

Context description

The END is the main EU instrument through which noise emissions are monitored and actions developed. It defines environmental noise as ‘unwanted or harmful outdoor sound created by human activities, including noise emitted by means of transport, road traffic, rail traffic, air traffic and from sites of industrial activity’. It places an obligation on EU Member States to assess noise levels by producing strategic noise maps for all major roads, railways, airports and urban areas. Based on these noise-mapping results, Member States must prepare action plans containing measures that address noise issues and their effects for areas where specific END threshold values (i.e. 55 dB averaged across day-evening-night periods (L_den) and 50 dB averaged across night-time periods (L_night)) are exceeded. The END neither sets limit values for noise exposure nor prescribes measures for inclusion in the action plans. Finally, Member States are required to select and preserve areas of good acoustic environmental quality, referred to as quiet areas, to protect the European soundscape.

Targets

The EU’s Seventh Environment Action Programme contains the objective that by 2020 noise pollution in the EU will have significantly decreased, moving closer to WHO-recommended levels. To achieve this objective, an updated EU noise policy aligned with the latest scientific knowledge must be implemented along with measures to reduce noise at source, including improvements in city design. One of the key commitments of the European Commission’s zero-pollution ambition is to reduce the share of people chronically disturbed by transport noise by 30% by 2030, compared with 2017.

Metadata

DPSIRTopicsTagsTemporal coverageGeographic coverage

TypologyUN SDGsUnit of measure

L_den(day-evening-night noise level): the long-term average indicator designed to assess annoyance and defined by the Environmental Noise Directive (END). It refers to an A-weighted average sound pressure level over all days, evenings and nights in a year, with an evening weighting of 5 dB and a night weighting of 10 dB.

L_night(night noise level): the long-term average indicator defined by the END and designed to assess sleep disturbance. It refers to an A-weighted annual average night period of exposure.

dB: decibel, a unit of measurement for sound.

Frequency of dissemination

References and footnotes

EU, 2002, Directive 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 June 2002 relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise, OJ L 189, 18.7.2002, p. 12-25.

^a^b
WHO Europe, 2018, Environmental noise guidelines for the European region, World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen.

^a^b^c
EU, 2013, Decision No 1386/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 2013 on a General Union Environment Action Programme to 2020 ‘Living well, within the limits of our planet’, OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 171-200.

^a^b
EEA, 2021, 'Noise country fact sheets 2021 — European Environment Agency', (
https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/human/noise/noise-fact-sheets)
accessed August 2, 2021.

^↵
WHO Europe and JRC, 2011, Burden of disease from environmental noise — Quantification of healthy life years lost in Europe, World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen.

^↵

Exposure of Europe’s population to environmental noise

Figure 1. Estimated number of people exposed to unhealthy noise levels, based on Environmental Noise Directive thresholds, in the EU in 2007, 2012 and 2017

Figure 2. Estimated percentage of inhabitants within urban areas exposed to unhealthy road traffic noise levels, based on Environmental Noise Directive thresholds, in 2017 in the EEA member countries and the United Kingdom

Supporting information

Methodology for indicator calculation

Methodology for gap filling

Context description

Targets

Related policy documents

Methodology uncertainty

Data sets uncertainty

Rationale uncertainty

Metadata

References and footnotes