Compliance · World Health Organization
WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region (2018)
Ambient air: environmental noise guideline (WHO Europe)
The WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region (2018) set health-based levels for long-term exposure to environmental noise by source. WHO strongly recommends reducing road traffic noise below 53 dB Lden and 45 dB Lnight, railway noise below 54 dB Lden and 44 dB Lnight, and aircraft noise below 45 dB Lden and 40 dB Lnight; it conditionally recommends wind turbine noise below 45 dB Lden and the yearly average from all leisure noise below 70 dB LAeq,24h.
The standard
What the WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines Are
Lden is the day-evening-night level: an annual equivalent continuous level with penalties for the evening and night hours. Lnight is the equivalent level over the night.
Limit values
WHO noise 2018 Limit Values
Every value World Health Organization publishes for the parameter below, with its averaging period, as the standard states it.
Who it applies to
Who Uses Them
Public health and planning authorities setting noise policy, environmental assessments of roads, railways, airports, and wind farms, and community noise programs. They are guidelines, not law; national and local noise limits, planning conditions, and permits set the enforceable values.
Monitoring
How Monitoring Relates to Them
The guideline indicators are long-term averages, usually assessed by modeling and measurement over a year. Continuous noise monitoring at a receptor gives the measured Leq, from which Lden and Lnight are built, and shows the events and periods behind them. Class 1 or Class 2 sound level meters to IEC 61672 are the instruments such measurements rely on.
Recommended
best match-
Industrial monitor for indoor and outdoor sites. Built-in sensors cover the essentials, and hot-swappable gas sensor cartridges and a differential-pressure option add more.
Built-inEquivalent Continuous Level (Leq)Gas 1
Free: one more gas sensor cartridge
Gas 2
Free: one more gas sensor cartridge
MultiSense
Free: a MultiSense, stock or built to order
Expansion
Free: differential pressure
Also measures 12 more
Dew PointHeat IndexRelative HumidityIlluminance / LightParticle Count (by size)PM1PM10PM2.5Total PM / Mass Conc.Barometric PressureSound Pressure Level (SPL)Air Temperature
Who measures each parameter
| Parameter | Aethair PRO |  Aethair IAQ |  External |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equivalent Continuous Level (Leq) | Built in | — | 2 instruments via Thiamis |
Devices
Devices That Cover WHO noise 2018
How much of this standard one Aethair monitor covers, followed by the third-party instruments in the sensor catalog that measure its parameters. Each connects to Environet through a Thiamis gateway, which adds whatever the monitor leaves out.
Aethair monitors
Covers it on its own
Solutions
Solutions Judged Against WHO noise 2018
Noise Monitoring
Environmental and occupational sound levels
Questions
WHO noise 2018 FAQ
What level does WHO recommend for road traffic noise?
Below 53 dB Lden for average exposure and below 45 dB Lnight at night.
What is Lden?
The day-evening-night level: an equivalent continuous sound level over a year, with penalties added to the evening and night periods to reflect their greater annoyance.
Are the WHO noise guidelines legal limits?
No. They are health-based recommendations; enforceable noise limits come from national and local law, planning conditions, and permits.
Monitor Against WHO noise 2018
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