Inferred vehicular emissions at a near-road site: Impacts of COVID-19 restrictions, traffic patterns, and ambient air temperature.

ABSTRACT: Vehicles are a major source of anthropogenic emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO_x), and black carbon (BC). CO and NO_x are known to be harmful to human health and contribute to ozone formation, while BC absorbs solar radiation that contributes to global warming and also has negative impacts on human health and visibility. Travel restrictions implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic provide researchers the opportunity to study the impact of large, on-road traffic reductions on local air quality. Traffic counts collected along Interstate-95, a major eight-lane highway in Maryland (US), reveal a 60% decrease in passenger car totals and an 8.6% (combination-unit) and 21% (single-unit) decrease in truck traffic counts in April 2020 relative to prior April

SUBMITTER: Hall-Quinlan DL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9918323 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature