Barcelona to install sound level monitors in bid to beat noise pollution

Noise meters will be deployed to confirm acoustically stressed' areas where action will be taken

Barcelona's streets and plazas have long been home to a raucous cacophony of restaurant patios, buskers and throngs of residents and tourists. Now the city is on a mission to find out just how noisy these spaces can get, with the installation of sound level monitors in 11 areas.

It's an absolute priority," said Eloi Badia, the Barcelona city councillor for climate emergency and ecological transition. Noise pollution - with all of its sleep disorders, pathologies and stress - is one of the most important public health issues we have in the city, second only to air pollution."