24.02.2020
Weather conditions vs Sound levels ?
DID YOU KNOW
Environmental sound monitoring is now a common requirement in the areas surrounding large construction sites and infrastructure projects. Construction methods such as drill and blast, pile driving or concrete sawing can generate high-intensity sounds that can be deleterious for citizens living in the vicinity of these projects.
Did you know that the weather plays a large role in how far these nuisances travel and how they are perceived? Measuring sound levels on a windy day or quiet day can yield very different results because the wind speed is added to the speed of sound.
There is also a lesser-known phenomenon that has a large effect on sound propagation: temperature inversions. A temperature inversion occurs when the air temperature increases as altitude increases. The layer of warm air refracts sound towards the ground, effectively increasing the range and intensity of sound at ground level.
This is why measuring the weather conditions is critical for high-quality sound level measurements.
