A note on the acoustic environment in a usually quiet residential area after the ‘state of emergency’ declaration due to COVID-19 pandemic in Japan was lifted: supplementary survey results in post-emergency situations

Abstract

In a preceding report (UCL Open: Environment, 2020;1;6), an example of results on changes in the acoustic environment from a local-scale survey in a quiet residential area during and after the ‘state of emergency’ due to COVID-19 pandemic in Japan is presented: the noise level was 1–2 dBA lower during the state of emergency, which is smaller than reported from large cities. This note presents the results of a follow-up survey in the same area to provide some more examples to gain an insight into the acoustic environment in this area. In this note, the measurement results of noise levels in June 2020, a few weeks after the cancellation of the state of emergency, are mainly reported. As the results are almost the same as those from during the state of emergency, we can infer that either the noise level was reduced in June to a level that was almost the same as that during the state of emergency, or the noise level after its cancellation in May was possibly higher than usual. In either case, the change in noise level was small, and it was difficult to conclude which case was true.

Quieted City Sounds during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Montreal

“…Thus, the changes in COVID-19 sound levels emerging from traffic borne-noise seem to be dependent on the local context, such as the strength of the lockdown and the comparative use of roads. Sound level reductions in cities that had overall fewer COVID-19-related restrictions had, in turn, smaller reductions in overall sound levels, such as Stockholm and Kobe, Japan [7,15].…”

“…The study highlighted a park (Casa de Campo: adjacent to a zoo and amusement park) and showed that while levels were normally higher on weekend afternoons and evenings, the long plateau from those periods disappeared during their lockdown [20]. A study using six measurement points in Kobe (where there was a less strict State of Emergency in place, rather than a lockdown) showed a difference between weekdays and weekends, with weekday mornings being louder [15].…”

“…In Stockholm, these levels went 0.5-2.0 dBA below normal as national restrictions were eased and holiday gatherings were taking place [7]. The city of Sakagami, Japan experienced a temporary surge over normal levels after their state of emergency was relaxed, especially for morning, evening, and overnight, but these quickly stabilized to 'normal' over a few days or weeks [15]. Finally, data collected all over Spain concluded that despite a dip of 15 dB in overall sound levels during the tightest phase of lockdown, the return to 'normal' sound levels was "lightly" higher than pre-COVID conditions [25].…”

Soundscape of Catalonia during the first COVID-19 lockdown: Preliminary results from the <em>Sons al Balcó</em> project

“…All the noise [8] associated with regular activities outdoors became almost nonexistent. Noise from traffic [9][10][11][12], railway noise, port noise [13], airport noise [14] and leisure-related noise [15] were substantially reduced in most of the analyzed cities [16][17][18], and even in quiet residential areas [19]. Nevertheless, everything seems to come back to normal after the harder episodes of the pandemic, and most of the cities around Europe have come back to their original noise levels in the street [20], maybe losing the opportunity to improve the noise impact on people.…”

Evaluation of the LAeq levels during the COVID-19 lockdown period using a static wireless acoustic sensor network in the city of Girona

“…Most of the noise [8] associated with regular activities outdoors became almost nonexistent. Noise ground transportation, as traffic noise [9][10][11][12], railway noise, but also port noise [13], airport noise [14], industry noise [15] and leisure-related noise [16] were clearly reduced in the analyzed cities [17][18][19], and even in quiet residential areas [20].…”