Sure, we complain about noise pollution all the time, but how loud is Hong Kong, really? We decided to spend a day on the street measuring the noise levels with a decibel meter, only to realize, damn, we’re living in a pretty noisy city.
Note: To take our measurements, we ran the meter for five minutes, taking the highest reading over that time. The decibel level in a reasonably quiet environment is usually 40-50 decibels (dB), compared to the 140 dB emitted by a jet plane.
Women’s Street
Tung Choi St., Mongkok
Our first stop is Mong Kok’s Women Street. It’s a weekday afternoon, so it wasn’t too busy. But the maximum reading still shows 83dB, which is higher than the average street noise level of 70dB. Why? Probably due to the hawker bellowing into a microphone, trying to sell her product. Passer-bys don’t seem particularly affected.
New Town Mall
65 Argyle St., Mongkok
Then we went to a mall right next to the Argyle Street MTR exit and stood under a pair of speakers. The mall has a VJ that plays music videos all day long. The decibel counter takes a maximum reading of 87.3dB. We talk to Sin, the VJ. She doesn’t think the music is too loud, but she admits that the mall might turn up the volume a bit in order to attract the crowd. From what we observe, people around there seem to like it. Many of them are humming the song that its playing.
Train platform
Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station
Many of us have to spend a certain amount of time every day waiting on an MTR platform. How loud is it? Waiting for a train gives us an average reading of 72dB. But when the train arrives, the reading jumps up to 82.8dB. Almost everyone around us has their headphones on, so are they bothered by the background noise? Who can tell?
MTR Train
From Admiralty to Wan Chai
We can’t believe how noisy train compartments are. Apart from the noise made by the moving train, there are myriad other sound sources: women talking about fashion, music from PSPs, sound that leaks out from headphones. It all adds up, and we get a reading of 117.7dB for the commute from Admiralty to Wan Chai. We feel sorry for the people who travel by MTR for more than 15 minutes a day. A 16-year old student we spoke to told us he just gets used to it, and doesn’t think it’s noisy at all.
Minibus stop
Lockhart Rd., Causeway Bay
What about waiting for a minibus? We stand in the queue, right beside a minibus with its engine on. After five minutes we’ve got a peak reading of 100.4dB. No wonder our streets are so noisy, what with all the idling engines. It’s not only bad for our lungs, but for our ears as well.
The “Sogo Junction”
Causeway Bay
The Sogo Junction is the landmark of Causeway Bay, but how noisy is it? We stand in the heart of it for five minutes. The maximum reading is 118.4dB. We blame the noise of the buses passing by.
Tough Clothing Store
Yun Ping Rd., Causeway Bay
This is the most surprising finding of the day. We walk by a boutique on Yun Ping Road and hear a deafening noise coming from inside. It’s blaring from the store’s stereo. So we turn on our meter walk around the shop and get the highest reading of the day - it hits 123.7dB! The source? Brazilian chill-out music.
CD Shop
Lockhart Rd., (near Cannon St.), Causeway Bay
Many people complain about the loud music coming from inside music stores. This shop was playing some mellow Taiwanese pop song, so the sound level isn’t too bad. But when they play promotional jingles in-between songs, the noise level shoots up to 118.8 dB.
Open piazza at Time Square
1 Matheson St., Causeway Bay
We arrive at Time Square and the place is busy. Our average sound pressure level is around 100dB. But when we stand closer to the speakers of their signature giant TV, the reading jumps to 122.6dB.
Perhaps it’s the mall’s strategy to stop people loitering around the piazza. Tang Sai-cheong, a 27-year old passer-by says he thinks the TV sound is way too loud.
Queen’s Road/ Pedder Street Junction
Central
What about our beloved Central? It’s 5:35pm, and we’re standing at this junction, one of the busiest areas in the neighborhood. We get a 117.3dB reading. Why so loud? Mostly due to the huge outdoor TV screen and heavy traffic. There’s some renovation going on in a nearby shop as well.
Drum Solo in a soundproof practice room
We test out our drum set, and since we’re playing in a soundproof room, the reading is actually not too high, as most of the waves are being absorbed by the foam that covers the walls. So the average reading we get is just 110.9dB. So rocking out is better for your ears than shopping? Good news to us.