How the noise score works: sources, math, and limits
What goes into the 0–10 score, how the sources combine, and what it deliberately does not claim.
The Widgita noise map answers one question for any point on Earth: roughly how noisy is it here, compared with anywhere else? The answer is a 0–10 score plus a breakdown by source. Everything is computed in your browser from public data — no location ever leaves your device. Here is exactly how that number is produced.
The four sources
| Source | Data | How it is modeled |
|---|---|---|
| Road | OpenStreetMap roads | Proximity buffers by road class, following the methodology of the open osm-noise-pollution project |
| Rail | OpenStreetMap rail | Proximity buffers, plus a horn-blow bump within ~300 m of level crossings |
| Aviation | OpenFlights airports + OSM runways | Runway-aligned lobes around ~200 major airports; concentric rings where no runway data exists |
| Industry | OpenStreetMap landuse | Proximity buffers around industrial areas |
How the sources combine
Per-source scores are combined on a dB-style scale: each 0–10 point corresponds to roughly 3 dB. That has two consequences worth knowing. First, a single loud source dominates — a home next to a motorway does not get quieter because there are no trains. Second, two equal sources add only about one point: two 5s make roughly a 6, not a 10. Buffer edges fade smoothly over about 60 m instead of snapping to zero, so the score does not jump wildly when you move a pin across a street.
What the score means
| Score | Reading |
|---|---|
| 0–2 | Very quiet — residential, park, or rural |
| 3–4 | Moderate — occasional road or transit noise |
| 5–6 | Noisy — close to busy roads or transit corridors |
| 7–8 | Very noisy — near a major highway, rail line, or airport approach |
| 9–10 | Extremely noisy — directly adjacent to a major source |
What it is not
- Not a calibrated Lden value. Lden is the EU-standard day-evening-night indicator with evening and night weightings. This score is a relative indicator for comparing places, not for certifying regulatory limits.
- No time of day. Rush hour, night freight, and flight banks are not in the model. A road that is quiet at noon can be loud at 8 am.
- Outdoor only. Insulation, glazing, building orientation, and floor level are not modeled.
- No temporary sources. Construction, events, neighbors, and nightlife do not appear.
- Only as good as OpenStreetMap. Where OSM coverage is thin, the map is thin too.
Attribution and reuse
OpenStreetMap data is licensed under the Open Database License (ODbL), so derivative works — including the scores — inherit ODbL attribution and share-alike obligations. Airport positions come from the OpenFlights database. The scores themselves are approximations provided as-is for informational comparison, not warranted for safety-critical, real-estate, or regulatory use.