Coronavirus lockdown gives animals rare break from noise pollution

The COVID-19 lockdown could become an unprecedented natural experiment in noise pollution. Some of the world's most vocal animals — birds and whales — might already be benefiting from a quieter environment.

While a drop in transportation during the coronavirus lockdowns has led to lower pollution levels across the world, the slowdown in traffic has also lowered another big polluter: noise.

• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), noise pollution affects over 100 million people across Europe and, in Western Europe alone, road traffic accounts for premature deaths equivalent to the loss of roughly "1.6 million healthy years.