Cycling in one of the most polluted cities in the world: Exposure to noise and air pollution and potential adverse health impacts in Delhi

Abstract

Background In India, many cities struggle with extreme levels of air pollution and noise. Delhi, in particular, has the notorious reputation of being one of the most polluted cities in the world. Cyclists constitute a particularly exposed population, since they cycle among motor vehicles without any protection. This paper modeled the cyclists’ exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and noise in Delhi, India. Methods Using primary data collected on 1,229 kms of roads in Delhi, Generalized Additive Mixed Models with Auto-Regressive terms (GAMMAR) are constructed for noise exposure, NO2 exposure and NO2 inhalation doses. Results Results show that cyclists are exposed to 47 µg/m3 of NO2 and 3.3 dB(A) more when cycling on a primary road than on a residential street. Using WHO guideline values for noise and air pollution, we assessed how many minutes of inhaling doses and noise doses become potentially harmful to cyclists’ health in Delhi. Such thresholds are quickly exceeded: after cycling one hour in an area with moderate predicted values of noise and air pollution, the noise dose and inhaled dose of NO2 will reach 212% and 403 µg on residential streets, and 459% and 482 µg on primary roads, respectively. Conclusion Policy makers should take these results into account to minimize cyclists’ exposure, especially for the most deprived people.

Is Sharing Mobility a Solution to the Air Pollution Problem: Taking Delhi as an Example

“…These factors would trigger adverse health impacts on them, such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, certain types of cancer, annoyance, and stress. According to the study done by Apparicio et al, cyclists could reach the daily mean noise exposure of dB Laden in 29, 21, and 13 min on a residential street, tertiary road, and primary road in an area with moderate predicted values of noise; they could also intake risk value of NO2 per hour in 27, 24, 23 min on a residential street, tertiary road, and primary road [15].…”

Cyclists’ exposure to air pollution, noise, and greenery: a population-level spatial analysis approach

“…Despite the overall health effects of noise, exposure to noise during cycling has remained an understudied topic [30]. Studies from Delhi, Montreal and from eleven Dutch cities found that the cyclists were exposed to excessive noise in these cities [58][59][60]. In one study, noise exposure of cycling was found to be the highest along major roads and downtown [31].…”