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Acoustics

How much traffic noise is still healthy?

Short answer

WHO advises keeping road traffic noise below 53 dB Lden (a weighted average over day, evening and night) and below 45 dB at night.

WHO outdoor noise: WHO guideline values outside at the façade: road traffic Lden < 53 / Lnight < 45 dB, rail < 54 / < 44 dB, aircraft < 45 / < 40 dB, wind turbines Lden < 45 dB.
WHO outdoor noise — WHO guideline values outside at the façade: road traffic Lden < 53 / Lnight < 45 dB, rail < 54 / < 44 dB, aircraft < 45 / < 40 dB, wind turbines Lden < 45 dB. (The text inside the figure is in Dutch.)

Explanation

Lden is an annual average over day, evening and night, with extra weight for evening and night. Lnight is the night-time average. The 2018 WHO guidelines give an advisory value per source. In the EU about 89 million people live with road traffic noise of 55 dB Lden or more.

Rules of thumb

  • Road traffic: below 53 dB Lden and 45 dB Lnight. [SW-S08]
  • Rail traffic: below 54 dB Lden and 44 dB Lnight. [SW-S08]
  • Air traffic: below 45 dB Lden and 40 dB Lnight. [SW-S08]
  • Wind turbines: below 45 dB Lden. [SW-S08]

Pitfalls

  • These values apply outside at the façade, not inside your room. [SW-S08]
  • They are health recommendations, not legal limits in Belgium or the Netherlands. [SW-S08]

By region

Belgium Netherlands
Noise maps and action plans are available from the region (Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels) or, in the Netherlands, via the Atlas Leefomgeving. [SW-S09]

Search terms

These search terms are in Dutch; only terms that also find a topic in English are links.

verkeerslawaai Lden Lnight WHO geluidshinder

Read also

General information, not personal advice. Check the source and reference date.

Sources

  1. SW-S08 Compendium of WHO and other UN guidance on health and environment — hoofdstuk 11 Environmental noise — WHO (Reference date 2026-09-27)
  2. SW-S09 Exposure of Europe's population to environmental noise (indicator) — European Environment Agency (Reference date 2026-09-27)

Reference date: 2026-09-27 · Translated with AI from the Dutch original.