It has certainly been a challenging few months. The team here at Sonitus Systems – like most people – have welcomed any positive news stories emerging from the recent crisis.
It has certainly been a challenging few months. The team here at Sonitus Systems – like most people – have welcomed any positive news stories emerging from the recent crisis. And one story on HappyMag.TV caused a little celebration inside Sonitus HQ! Journalist Manning Patston recently reported that ‘Noise pollution is at its lowest level in recorded history thanks to COVID-19‘. If, like us, you need some good news, you can read the article in full here: https://happymag.tv/noise-pollution-is-at-its-lowest-level-in-recorded-history-thanks-to-covid-19
In short, the above article focuses on the wider effects of COVID-19, the period of lockdown and subsequent ongoing restrictions on the level of noise pollution. Much of the information is drawn from a report published in the Journal of Science. The report consists of contributions from 76 authors across 27 different countries. Lead scientists, Dr.Thomas Lecocq and Dr.Koen Van Noten, confirm that a record has just been set for “the least human-made noise pollution in recorded history”. The report authors refer to this recent drop in noise levels as the “andropause.” Sound measurements, or seismic waves, have long been used by scientists to predict volcanic activity and earthquakes. In more recent times, as research progresses and technology evolves, these measurements now take into consideration the sound of human activities in order to make the predictions more accurate. There are over 260 seismic stations across the planet and 69 percent of these have reported seeing significant reductions in human-caused noise since the lockdown first hit in Asia. The reductions began in China and moved west across the middle east, Africa and Europe before hitting America – mirroring the spread and identification of the virus.
Earlier this summer we wrote about ‘What the Pandemic Sounds Like‘ and you can catch up on this and actually listen to a recording here: What the pandemic sounds like
In New Zealand, which has recently initiated a second lockdown, human-made noise reduced by 50 percent at the height of the first lockdown! There are so many reasons why this is important. Exposure to noise pollution has been recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a contributory factor to a whole range of ill-health effects, including increased risk of ischemic heart disease as well as sleep disturbance, annoyance, stress-related mental health risks and tinnitus. Furthermore, according to the findings by the WHO, noise is the second largest environmental cause of health problems – second only to poor air quality.
The Sonitus Systems team have also written extensively about the impact of the pandemic on air quality around the world and the (temporary?) reduction in air pollution. Air quality and coronavirus
Sonitus Systems supply robust and reliable sound level monitoring equipment globally from their base in Dublin. Their award-winning products and services allow users to easily monitor and assess noise levels in any scenario to ensure compliance. For more information, call the Sonitus Systems team on +353 1 6778443 or email info@sonitussystems.com