Noise levels associated with urban land use types in Kigali, Rwanda

Noise pollution poses a serious threat to public health and continues to grow in extent, frequency, and severity due to the rapid population growth and urbanization, and this is of particular concern in developing countries such as Rwanda. However, data on noise pollution levels, noise laws and regu...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Egide Kalisa, Elisephane Irankunda, Eulade Rugengamanzi, Mabano Amani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-09-01
Series:Heliyon
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022019417
_version_ 1811180803486384128
author Egide Kalisa
Elisephane Irankunda
Eulade Rugengamanzi
Mabano Amani
author_facet Egide Kalisa
Elisephane Irankunda
Eulade Rugengamanzi
Mabano Amani
author_sort Egide Kalisa
collection DOAJ
description Noise pollution poses a serious threat to public health and continues to grow in extent, frequency, and severity due to the rapid population growth and urbanization, and this is of particular concern in developing countries such as Rwanda. However, data on noise pollution levels, noise laws and regulations are, however, lacking in Rwanda. We assessed the effect of land-use type during a two-month period at nine sites: three commercial sites, three passenger-car parking sites, two road junction sites, and one reference site (Car-Free Zone) in Rwanda. We collected data on noise pollution during weekdays (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) and Weekends (Saturday and Sunday) in the morning (7h00–10h00), around noon (11h00–14h00), and in the evening (15h00–18h00). The mean noise levels were higher during weekdays (60–80) A-weighted decibels (dB) (A)) than during weekends (50–70 dB (A)). We recorded the lowest noise level at Kigali car-free zone in the morning (34.4 dB (A)) and the highest noise level at Nyabugogo passenger-car parks in the evening (111.2dB (A)). Spatial variation of noise levels interpolated for Kigali City shows higher noise levels (hotspot) in the outskirts of Kigali, Remera and Kimironko. Noise levels recorded in Kigali exceeded the World Health Organization permissible daytime limits during both weekdays and weekends at all land-use types except the car-free zone site. Our results indicate that Kigali residents are exposed to high levels of noise, and urgent development of noise pollution monitoring programs and control measures in Rwanda is required.
first_indexed 2024-04-11T09:09:34Z
format Article
id doaj.art-901c2af1bb3b4caf9ba783c7047aae6f
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2405-8440
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-11T09:09:34Z
publishDate 2022-09-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Heliyon
spelling doaj.art-901c2af1bb3b4caf9ba783c7047aae6f2022-12-22T04:32:32ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402022-09-0189e10653Noise levels associated with urban land use types in Kigali, RwandaEgide Kalisa0Elisephane Irankunda1Eulade Rugengamanzi2Mabano Amani3University of Rwanda, Center of Excellence in Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management, College of Science and Technology, Kigali, P.O. BOX 3900 Kigali, Rwanda; Corresponding author.The East African University (T.E.A.U.), School of Computer Science and Information Technology, KenyaMuhimbili University of Health and Applied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaDepartment de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals (BEECA), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Av.Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, SpainNoise pollution poses a serious threat to public health and continues to grow in extent, frequency, and severity due to the rapid population growth and urbanization, and this is of particular concern in developing countries such as Rwanda. However, data on noise pollution levels, noise laws and regulations are, however, lacking in Rwanda. We assessed the effect of land-use type during a two-month period at nine sites: three commercial sites, three passenger-car parking sites, two road junction sites, and one reference site (Car-Free Zone) in Rwanda. We collected data on noise pollution during weekdays (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) and Weekends (Saturday and Sunday) in the morning (7h00–10h00), around noon (11h00–14h00), and in the evening (15h00–18h00). The mean noise levels were higher during weekdays (60–80) A-weighted decibels (dB) (A)) than during weekends (50–70 dB (A)). We recorded the lowest noise level at Kigali car-free zone in the morning (34.4 dB (A)) and the highest noise level at Nyabugogo passenger-car parks in the evening (111.2dB (A)). Spatial variation of noise levels interpolated for Kigali City shows higher noise levels (hotspot) in the outskirts of Kigali, Remera and Kimironko. Noise levels recorded in Kigali exceeded the World Health Organization permissible daytime limits during both weekdays and weekends at all land-use types except the car-free zone site. Our results indicate that Kigali residents are exposed to high levels of noise, and urgent development of noise pollution monitoring programs and control measures in Rwanda is required.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022019417Car-free zoneCommercial sitesNoise pollutionLand-use typesRoad trafficPassenger park
spellingShingle Egide Kalisa
Elisephane Irankunda
Eulade Rugengamanzi
Mabano Amani
Noise levels associated with urban land use types in Kigali, Rwanda
Heliyon
Car-free zone
Commercial sites
Noise pollution
Land-use types
Road traffic
Passenger park
title Noise levels associated with urban land use types in Kigali, Rwanda
title_full Noise levels associated with urban land use types in Kigali, Rwanda
title_fullStr Noise levels associated with urban land use types in Kigali, Rwanda
title_full_unstemmed Noise levels associated with urban land use types in Kigali, Rwanda
title_short Noise levels associated with urban land use types in Kigali, Rwanda
title_sort noise levels associated with urban land use types in kigali rwanda
topic Car-free zone
Commercial sites
Noise pollution
Land-use types
Road traffic
Passenger park
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022019417
work_keys_str_mv AT egidekalisa noiselevelsassociatedwithurbanlandusetypesinkigalirwanda
AT elisephaneirankunda noiselevelsassociatedwithurbanlandusetypesinkigalirwanda
AT euladerugengamanzi noiselevelsassociatedwithurbanlandusetypesinkigalirwanda
AT mabanoamani noiselevelsassociatedwithurbanlandusetypesinkigalirwanda