Geography [4 Mark Question Answer]

Noise pollution is defined as an unwanted sound that is an irritant and a source of stress.
Most of the noise originates from modem industrialised urban life. The main sources of noise pollution are :

1. Industrial Sector
2. Transport Sector
3. Household sector
4. Defence Sector
5. Loud Speakers
6. Miscellaneous Sources.

Pollutants are categorises in mainly i.e. degradable and non- degradable pollutants, out of them non-degradable pollutants create problem of pollution, e.g. glass, plastics, pesticides, etc.
On the basis of existence in nature, pollutants are divided into two categories:

• Quantitative pollutants: These substances exist in nature but they act as pollutants when their concentration or quantity increases up to a critical level in the atmosphere, e.g., Carbon- dioxide, Nitrogen oxide, etc.
• Qualitative pollutants: These pollutants do not exist in the environment They are introduced into the environment through man’s activities, e.g., pesticides (DDT), chemical fertilizers, herbicides, etc.

Noise is a source of pollution because noise pollution is done by extreme noise of the industrial sector, transport, loudspeakers, etc., which adversely affect human health causing severe headache, migraine, mental disbalance, nervous breakdown, heart diseases.
Noise is a health hazard. Exposure to prolonged noise has many physical, physiological, and psychological effects on human beings in the following ways:

1. repeated exposure to noise reduces the sleeping hours
2. productivity or efficiency of a human being
3. it affects the peace of mind and invades the privacy of a human being.