Why Is Chennai So Loud?
The city is producing a rising din. Our health cannot adapt to it
Sometime in 2021, Kamali and her husband, Velan, first noticed the noise when they still enjoyed quiet morning walks in the neighborhood parks. After moving to a large, independent house on First Street, Anna Nagar—one that Kamali was drawn to immediately—they had been living there for five years with their son. Small, well-manicured parks were within walking distance; the roads were wide; and the neighbors, mostly elderly with children settled in the United States, were quiet and friendly. They loved that they could walk through the silent neighborhood even at eight a.m., when most were rushing to work, look past the large cinema studios at the sparse morning traffic, and return home for breakfast without vehicles whizzing past them. Until recently, the area around their house had mostly consisted of similar independent homes, with a few open plots nestled between neatly arranged houses closer to the market.
They enjoyed long walks around First Street in the early mornings, following the 100 Feet Road to the avenue roads and Tower Park, and short evening walks in the neighborhood park to decompress. During one of those walks—at just 7 a.m.—the couple were startled by the blaring speakers of street hawkers: “Coconuts, coconuts, please come, please buy!” It was infuriating, but Kamali calmed herself. It was probably an anomaly. The next day, she heard it again. Is this another new way of making noise? she wondered. A few days later, more hawkers’ speakers appeared. Morning after morning, she realized, the speakers blared—on every street, every day. What was even more frustrating was that some played the messages on a loop.
Even when not intended to cause harm, the sounds of drilling, barking, construction, TV, singing, dancing, and generators can cause severe suffering for those exposed. “It feels like it’s eating your nerves,” said Kamali’s friend, a patient undergoing treatment for nerve issues at a city hospital.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) noise-level database, Chennai is India’s second noisiest city, trailing only Hyderabad. Most city areas where ambient noise was recorded in 2017 showed levels significantly higher than the legal safe limits. The CPCB has not released any updates since.
During the study period, Anna Nagar—classified as a silent zone—recorded 166 instances of noise between 60 dB and 72 dB during the day. Both day and night periods saw 100% exceedance of prescribed limits. In T. Nagar, a commercial zone, noise levels exceeded 75 decibels during the day in 262 instances. According to Union Government standards, daytime noise limits are 50 dB in silent zones and 55 dB in residential areas; nighttime limits are 40 dB and 45 dB, respectively. Similar violations were observed in Guindy, Pallikaranai, Perambur, Velachery, Triplicane, and Washermanpet, among other study sites. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has not provided any data on noise in its published ambient air quality records.
As in every other city or town in the country—and the world—it is not unusual to hear loud vehicles in Chennai. It’s well known that many vehicles lack silencers, and enforcement by police is minimal. While such vehicles used to stick to major highways and arterial roads, today, many loud, booming vehicles pass directly by pedestrians on residential streets, making residents vulnerable to noise even at midnight.
The din from construction of apartment complexes leaves no room for peace. Unlicensed garbage shops dismantle metal in residential neighborhoods. Metro rail construction adds another layer—traffic diversions and loud machinery continue until dawn and are audible across long distances, exposing residents to regular noise over 92 dB. While noise from traffic and construction is often limited to business hours, early mornings and late nights—once quiet—are now disrupted by hyperactive hawkers with ear-piercing speakers (not to mention their presence throughout the day), completing the city’s daily cycle of noise pollution. Noise—or what professionals call a “very dynamic acoustic environment”—can provoke people into irrational responses.
Noise is difficult to quantify or articulate. It is, above all, relative. “Sound is when you mow your lawn; noise is when your neighbor mows theirs; and music is when your neighbor mows your lawn,” says Arjun Shankar, an acoustic consultant. It’s also hard to legislate, though many have tried. The Greater Chennai Traffic Police launched a high-profile campaign to reduce honking, but aggressive motorists ignored it. Noise is still considered a low-level environmental threat—more of an aesthetic nuisance than a public health issue. Complaining about noise earns eye rolls. Nothing gets you labeled a crank faster.
Scientists have known for decades that even seemingly benign noise—like motor traffic—is harmful. Say you're trying to sleep. You may believe you’ve tuned out the growl of trucks, but your body hasn’t. Your adrenal glands are releasing stress hormones, your blood pressure and heart rate rise, and your digestion slows. While you sleep, your brain continues analyzing sounds; your blood pressure rises in response to noises as low as 33 decibels—just slightly louder than a purring cat.
Though some experts claim noise doesn’t significantly affect health, large-scale studies show that prolonged exposure increases the risk of high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, dementia, and depression. Children suffer both physically and cognitively. Eighteen months after a new airport opened in Munich, children nearby showed higher blood pressure and stress hormone levels.
Research on avoidable noise has shown clear academic losses. In the 1970s, Arline Bronzaft and Dennis McCarthy conducted a seminal study in New York, showing that children studying near train tracks scored lower in reading comprehension than those on the quieter side of the same school.
According to the Indian Medical Association, noise above 80 dB can harm hearing. At 88 dB, just four hours of exposure may lead to hearing loss. Many Chennai residents and workers—including traffic police—may have already experienced such damage. In noisy environments, students struggle to learn effectively, both in schools and at home. Bronzaft argues that prolonged exposure to even low-volume noise affects health, sleep, and overall quality of life.
With government efforts lacking, non-governmental organizations can help make Chennai quieter. Meanwhile, residents may need to take matters into their own hands—using earplugs, soundproofing homes, schools, and establishments, and launching campaigns that advocate for the right to silence until noise regulations are enforced for public health.
Kamali and Velan tried speaking to the hawkers, but were ignored. With no help from authorities, they resorted to wearing noise-cancelling foam earplugs on their walks. After the lockdown, they soundproofed their house—a costly decision, but one that brought some peace. As the saying goes, every man for himself.
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