Abstract

Background: As cities in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) become more crowded, noise pollution is also emerging as an important environmental concern, after air pollution. Yet, unlike air pollution, which is enjoying relatively more public attention, there is limited measurement data and policy efforts on environmental noise pollution. 
Objective: We followed a recent city-wide measurement approach used in Accra (Ghana) and characterized environmental noise patterns in Kigali, a contrasting city with very different topography and regulatory system than Accra to inform urban policy. 
Methods: We established 10 ‘fixed’ (yearlong) and 120 ‘rotating’ (weeklong) monitoring sites to capture both the temporal and spatial patterns in Kigali’s sound environment. The measurement occurred between November 2022 and December 2023, and samples were collected at 1-minute interval, resulting in 5,155,014 (3,580 site-days) and 1,190,620 (827 site-days) site-minutes of valid data from the fixed and rotating sites, respectively. The 130 monitoring sites covered a variety of geographic and land-use factors across diverse neighborhoods and sources. We computed several noise metrics, including 1-hour (LAeq1hr), daily (LAeq24hr), day-time (Lday), and night-time (Lnight). 
Results: Daily noise (LAeq24hr) levels across the city ranged between 38-85 dBA. Commercial, business, and industrial (CBI) and high-density residential (HD) communities experienced the highest noise levels, with some sites constantly above 70 dBA at day and 65 dBA at night. About 63% of our observed day-time values (up to ~72% in some areas) exceeded the Rwandan daytime standard (55 dBA) for residential areas, whereas 69% of the observed night-time values (up to 80% in some areas) exceeded the corresponding nighttime standard (45 dBA). In Nyarugenge, the most urbanized district, as much as 75% of our site-days data exceeded day-time standard. However, diurnal patterns throughout the city were similar, rising from ~5am, peaking at about 8am and plateauing until 6pm before falling to their lowest at midnight. Overall, noise levels in the city did not vary much by day of the week, weekdays vs weekend, or dry vs wet seasons.
Conclusion: Environmental noise in Kigali often exceeded both Rwandan standards and international guidelines, with residents in the city center district, CBI, and HD areas at risk of higher exposure and hence higher risk of adverse effects. Detailed assessment of the sources, at-risk population, and associated health effects may inform Rwandan’s environmental policy efforts and city initiatives in the face of the ongoing urban growth and densification.