Noise in cities is on the rise, and it’s become a problem governments will need to take seriously if they want to protect their citizens’ hearing health.
To mark #WorldNoiseDay, we wanted to put together this table of the noisiest cities in the world. The table is based on a World Economic Forum study analysing which cities in the world are the noisiest.
The top two are in China, but we were surprised to see Barcelona in 7th place, making it the noisiest city in Europe, followed by Paris and Rome.
Spain therefore places two cities among the 20 noisiest in the world: Barcelona in 7th place and Madrid in 16th.
| Rank | City | Country | Continent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guangzhou | China | Asia |
| 2 | Delhi | India | Asia |
| 3 | Cairo | Egypt | Africa/Asia |
| 4 | Mumbai | India | Asia |
| 5 | Istanbul | Turkey | Europe/Asia |
| 6 | Beijing | China | Asia |
| 7 | Barcelona | Spain | Europe |
| 8 | Mexico City | Mexico | North America |
| 9 | Paris | France | Europe |
| 10 | Buenos Aires | Argentina | South America |
Another important takeaway from this list of the noisiest cities is that Asia leads as the noisiest continent overall, with a total of 4 cities in the top 10 and 8 in the top 20 noisiest cities.
On the other hand, the quietest cities are all in Europe, with Zurich being the quietest city in the world.
The study also links noise to hearing loss, pointing to a possible connection between environmental noise and hearing loss, since the quietest city, Zurich, also has the best hearing health, while the second noisiest city, Delhi, has the worst.
It’s true that other factors also affect hearing health, but it’s been shown that properly protecting ourselves from noise helps us maintain hearing that’s appropriate for our age.
Source:
World Economic Forum
