Noise pollution from petrol-powered leaf blower in HDB housing estate скачать в хорошем качестве

Noise pollution from petrol-powered leaf blower in HDB housing estate

Excessive noise from the petroleum-powered leaf blowing machine went on continuously for at least 20 minutes in the neighbourhood carpark around 12 noon on 29 December 2025. It was not only grating to the nerves, but also so loud and blaring that I wasn’t able to hear clearly during my conversation with my mother when I was at the corridor at the sixth floor of the HDB block next to the carpark. ‘According to the WHO, excessive noise can cause an array of unwanted health problems – from sleep disturbance and depression to hypertension and adverse birth outcomes – so the organisation has established safe levels of average exposure. For traffic noise, it recommends a daily average of less than 53dB, and less than 45dB for aircraft noise. Singapore, too, has determined safe levels of noise. The National Environment Agency (NEA) suggests average indoor noise levels should be below 57dB. …. The noise from road traffic and a waterfall can be the same volume, but one sounds peaceful, while the other is intrusive. The difference isn’t in the loudness, but in how our brains interpret the sound. “Although noise metrics such as decibels provide standardised physical quantification of sound energy, human response to noise is fundamentally subjective,” explained Prof Gan. “Two sounds with identical sound pressure levels can evoke very different perceptions.” Psychoacoustic researchers have identified several metrics, beyond just volume, that contribute to what makes a noise annoying. Two important ones are sharpness and roughness. Roughness describes how grating or buzzing a sound feels. It is caused by rapid fluctuations that make a sound harsh or unpleasant. Sharpness, meanwhile, measures how piercing or shrill a sound is.’ Source: The Straits Times, 27 December 2025,   / 17tgujtr2s   This noise pollution has been reported via One Service app at least twice over the past year or so, as it has been affecting those who work from home and disrupting their concentration in whatever they are doing or thinking, but nothing seems to have been done to rectify this issue. Since it is our human right to live in a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, this serious health and environmental issue deserves the attention of the United Nations Human Rights Council to hold Singapore accountable, following which the Special Rapporteur will present a public report on the country visit to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2026.