Evaluating Traffic Air Pollution in Urban Area Based on Real-Time Traffic and Meteorological Information

Abstract

With the rapid development of urbanization and motorization, traffic-related air pollution generated by motor vehicle use becomes increasingly serious and harms public health. Quantifying traffic air pollution is significant in providing the foundation for effectively predicting, managing and controlling such pollution. Existing urban air quality models are hard to apply in reality, since required parameters are difficult to obtain in most Chinese cities. This paper attempts to propose a real-time estimation method, using only basic meteorological and traffic data, to analyze the distribution of traffic-related air pollution in urban areas. First, motor vehicle emission factor models enable calculation of traffic emissions on the basis of road link’s average speed, volume and the proportion of vehicle type. Second, combined with basic meteorological data, the concentration level of traffic air pollution is determined by basic Gaussian dispersion model and puff integration model for divided grids. Finally, as a kind of pollution, the CO concentration is evaluated using basic meteorological and traffic information both in typical grid zones and the whole Beijing urban area.