Estimated number of people exposed to long-term harmful levels of road, rail and aircraft noise, EU-27

This figure shows the estimated number of people exposed to L_den≥55dB and L_night≥50dB for 2012, 2017, 2017 baseline and 2022 for EU-27 on the lefthand side and it shows the number of people exposed to noise according the END thresholds and WHO recommendations for 2022 on the right hand side. This assessment is based on reported data on population exposure to noise submitted under the END. The data for 2022 is approximately 84% complete. A gap-filling exercise was conducted to complete the missing noise data. A 2017 baseline, comparable to the 2022 data, has been estimated to assess changes between 2017 and 2022 (Development of a 2017 baseline to monitor noise under the zero pollution objectives - Methodological document - https://www.eionet.europa.eu/etcs/etc-he/products/etc-he-products/etc-he-reports/etc-he-report-2023-9-wp-3-2-5-3-development-of-a-2017-baseline-to-monitor-noise-under-the-zero-pollution-objectives). Since health impacts begin below the thresholds set in the END, an extrapolation of the population exposed to the WHO recommended levels has been made (Environmental noise health risk assessment: methodology for assessing health risks using data reported under the Environmental Noise Directive- https://www.eionet.europa.eu/etcs/etc-he/products/etc-he-products/etc-he-reports/etc-he-report-2023-11-environmental-noise-health-risk-assessment-methodology-for-assessing-health-risks-using-data-reported-under-the-environmental-noise-directive).

Units

END Thresholds are 55dB Lden /50dB L_night: 55dB averaged across day-evening-night periods (L_den) and 50dB averaged across night-time periods (L_night).
WHO recommended levels are source specific: 53dB during the day-evening-night period and 45dB during the night for Road, 54dB during the day-evening-night period and 44dB during the night for rail and 45dB during the day-evening-night period and 40dB during the night for aircraft.

Additional information

It covers population exposed in EU-27 to noise sources such as roads with more than 3 million vehicle passages a year, railways with more than 30,000 train passages per year and airports with more than 50,000 aircraft movements per year, as well as all roads, railways, airports in urban areas with more than 100,000 inhabitants.

Methodology

Baseline 2017: To enable meaningful trends of the number of people exposed to noise over time, a harmonised baseline was established for the year 2017, using the CNOSSOS-EU methodology introduced in the 2022 reporting round. To ensure consistency, 2022 strategic noise map results were adjusted using available 2017 data on traffic volumes, population distribution, and transport infrastructure as reported under the Environmental Noise Directive (END). This allowed for a backward estimation of the number of people exposed to noise in 2017 from road, rail, and aircraft sources, using both the Lden and Lnight indicators.
The full methodology is described in the report “Development of a 2017 Baseline to Monitor Noise under the Zero Pollution Objectives”. https://www.eionet.europa.eu/etcs/etc-he/products/etc-he-products/etc-he-reports/etc-he-report-2023-9-wp-3-2-5-3-development-of-a-2017-baseline-to-monitor-noise-under-the-zero-pollution-objectives.
• Estimated number of people exposed to long-term harmful levels of road, rail and aircraft noise. (Left) Based on Environmental Noise Directive Thresholds in EU-27 for 2012, 2017, and 2022; (Right) Based on END and WHO Thresholds in EU-27 for 2022.
• The estimated number of people is calculated using data reported under the terms of the END as well as a gap filled data in cities/countries where data was missing.
- Detailed information on the gap-filling methodology applied for 2012 and 2017 can be found in: https://www.eionet.europa.eu/etcs/etc-atni/products/etc-atni-reports/etc-atni-report-06-2021-noise-indicators-under-the-environmental-noise-directive-2021-methodology-for-estimating-missing-data.
- The methodology for gap filling 2022 and 2017 baseline is described here: https://www.eionet.europa.eu/etcs/etc-he/products/etc-he-products/etc-he-reports/etc-he-report-2023-9-wp-3-2-5-3-development-of-a-2017-baseline-to-monitor-noise-under-the-zero-pollution-objectives.
Detailed completeness of the data by country and year can be seen in: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/datahub/datahubitem-view/c952f520-8d71-42c9-b74c-b7eb002f939bn
• There may be double counting if the number of people affected by noise of the three sources is added up.

Estimated number of people exposed to long-term harmful levels of road, rail and aircraft noise, EU-27

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References and footnotes