From the Hindustan Times comes an article concerning the noise levels in Mumbai as election season ends and Diwali begins. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and members of the
Awaaz Foundation, including noted environmental activist
Sumaira Abdulali, have monitored the decibel levels of fireworks for several years and have had some success in reducing the sound level of the more popular pyrotechnics. The activists' campaign aims to keep decibel levels below 125dB for a single explosion -- still loud (roughly that of a 747 taking off), but quieter than the fireworks used in years past.
I first heard of Abdulali in a
Washington Post article from last year, which is well worth reading. Abdulali has been monitoring Mumbai's noise levels for years (the city was
named noisiest in the world just this past summer) through the Awaaz Foundation, which she founded in 2002. Awaaz and the MPCB have been monitoring fireworks decibel levels since 2004.
