How loud is Dhaka?

Dhaka’s soundscape is dominated by traffic that rarely stops moving slowly: buses, trucks, motorbikes and several hundred thousand rickshaws compete lane-less through one of the world’s densest cities, and the horn substitutes for the mirror. The UNEP Frontiers 2022 report put Dhaka at the top of its global list with measured peaks of 119 dB — well past the threshold of pain.

The pressure is worst around Old Dhaka, the Gulistan and Farmgate intersections, and hospital zones that are nominally protected. Bangladesh’s Noise Pollution (Control) Rules 2006 cap residential noise at 55 dB by day and 45 dB at night — levels central Dhaka exceeds virtually every waking hour.

Authorities keep trying targeted fixes: the High Court banned hydraulic horns on Dhaka’s streets in 2017, and the government has declared horn-free zones around the Secretariat and the airport road, with mixed but measurable compliance. Hearing researchers at Dhaka’s hospitals report noise-induced hearing loss as an occupational epidemic among the city’s traffic police and rickshaw pullers.

Dhaka noise: the specifics

• UNEP Frontiers 2022 recorded peaks of 119 dB — the loudest of any city in its global survey.
• Hydraulic horns were banned by Bangladesh’s High Court in 2017; horn-free zones cover the Secretariat area and airport road.
• National limits are 55 dB day / 45 dB night for residential areas (Noise Pollution Control Rules 2006).
• Estimated 78–95 dB daytime range vs. the WHO’s 53 dB L_den guideline — roughly 34 dB over.