You heard it right: 23 of 26 monitoring stations in Delhi exceeded standard decibel levels; in Karol Bagh, it was a scream!

Delhi’s Diwali festivities ringing in this year brought an unexpected surge of noise, with several monitoring stations recording decibel levels well beyond what is legally acceptable. Even with a green cracker initiative and allotted hours for bursting, the decibel meter was pushed to its limits, particularly from 9 pm until 11 pm, spilling over into the night across many regions.

NEW DELHI: The city was noisier this Diwali than in the past two years as more areas recorded noise levels higher than set standards. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has categorised all areas of the city into four zones for noise levels — silent, residential, commercial, and industrial zones. The standards vary for the daytime and nighttime. For silent zones, the maximum decidbel level allowed is 40 dBA in the night and 50 in the day. In residential areas, it’s 45 at nighttime and 55 in the daytime. For commercial areas, the maximum level allowed is 55 units at night and 65 during the day. In industrial areas, 70 units maximum is for nighttime and 75 in the daytime. After five years, the firecracker ban was conditionally lifted by the Supreme Court. Only green crackers were allowed and the time windows were specified for bursting these.

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However, the DPCC data shows that not only did the noise levels shoot past safety standards, the stipulated time windows were also not honoured. Out of 26 monitoring stations across the city, 23 exceeded safety standards. In 2024, 22 out of 31 monitored areas, and in 2023, 13 out of 31 had exceeded standards. The data also showed that among the noisiest areas, the peak sonic levels were recorded between 9 pm to 11 pm on Monday, but some areas exceeded noise levels even at 2 am.

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This year, the decibel level was between 49.3-93.5 dBA. In 2024, the decibel levels ranged from 58-88.7 dBA. It was 53.7-84.5 dBA in 2023.At Karol Bagh, a commercial area, the peak noise level at 11 pm was 93.5 decibels — slightly better than 94.5 dBA last Diwali. The levels remained well above the standard from 7 am on Diwali day till 2 am on Oct 21. The noise was in the range of 66.5-93.5 dBA. At 2 am, the noise level was 85.3 dBA, against the night-time standards of 55 dBA. Karol Bagh’s night-time average was 88.4 dBA, almost the same as last year’s 88.7 dBA. It was 84.5 dBA in 2023. Among silent zones, Sri Aurobindo Marg was loud with an average noise level of 65 dBA. The peak level was 75.7 dBA at 9 pm. The silent zone, where levels must not exceed 40 decibels during night hours, remained loud from 9 pm until 1 am. In Bawana, around Maharshi Valmiki Hospital, the sound level recorded a peak of 77.9 dBA at 8 pm. The hospital area is a silent zone. Lajpat Nagar, a commercial area, recorded 83.3 dBA at 10 pm, and failed to meet standards from noon to 1 am. Vivek Vihar, a residential area, recorded a peak decibel level of 85 at 9 pm and remained noisy between 7 pm to 2 am. Dwarka recorded 81.1 dBA at 10 pm, while Dwarka Sector 8 recorded 80.6 dBA at 10 pm. Out of seven areas listed as silence zones, only two stations were found to be less noisy. Similarly, in residential, commercial and industrial areas, more areas were louder than last year’s Diwali. A July 2022 NGT directive said that govt should treat noise pollution on a par with air pollution, and whenever there is any plan to curb air pollution, similar plans must be made to mitigate noise pollution.