Spatiotemporal characteristics and drivers of Chinese urban total noise pollution from 2007 to 2019.

Abstract

Noise pollution as a result of urbanization and socioeconomic development threatens human health and has become a major environmental problem worldwide, particularly for urban residents. Based on observed equivalent noise data of 113 major Chinese cities, a Bayesian spatiotemporal hierarchy model (BSTHM) was employed to investigate the spatiotemporal characteristics of urban noise pollution in China from 2007 to 2019. Meanwhile, the BART model was adopted to explore the drivers of urban noise pollution. The mean and medium of the equivalent noise of the 113 major cities decreased from 2007 to 2011 but increased from 2011 to 2019; the corresponding annual growth is 0.0793 dB and 0.0947 dB per year. The overall spatial pattern has a certain geographical feature. The cities located in the eastern and north-eastern coastal regions generally have a higher level of noise pollution, and the western and southwestern cities have a lower level. One hundred cities not only have greater noise pollution but also an increasing trend. Although the 52 cities located in Western China have less noise pollution, they have increasing local trends. The results indicate that economic and social factors are the main drivers of noise pollution of China; the explanatory power is 46.2%. Traffic factors are also relatively important drivers, of which bus ridership is the leading one. In terms of the natural environment, climatic factors, including temperature and relative humidity, and presence of green areas containing parkland and general green land are the main determinants.