Urban Noise: A Case Study in Dire-Dawa City, Ethiopia

Urban noise pollution is one of the problems of the people who live in urban area and it is a cause of health and social problem. The main purpose of this work is to identify the major cause of the pollution and to determine the noise pollution levels in the city. A study was conducted on the main roads of Dire-Dawa city using digital Sound Level Meter (SLM). A case study was illustrated by applying standardized methods to find noise pollution in the city. It was found that the noise levels in overall city were very high and above the permissible limits. The result revealed that in the selected area of hospitals, the noise pollution is 103.68 and 104.27 dB during morning and in afternoon respectively. In general, the average values of the noise levels throughout the study area were between 45 and 95 dB in places of bargele and Medirbabur respectively.