GIS-Based On-Road Vehicular Emission Inventory for Lucknow, India

Megacities in India (population more than 10 million) have taken actions to control air-pollution emissions. However, the secondlevel cities (population between one and 10 million) have not drawn an action plan, and people face serious air pollution in these cities. For one such city, Lucknow, a geographic information system (GIS)-based methodology for emission inventory of on-road vehicles has been developed. The pollutants include: sulfur dioxide (SO2); oxides of nitrogen (NOx); carbon monoxide (CO); particulate matter (PM); 1,3 butadiene; formaldehyde; acetaldehyde; total aldehydes; and total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Video recording was done at nine road intersections of varying land-use patterns to assess traffic count and vehicle kilometer travel. Parking lot surveys were carried out for assessing engine type, vehicle age, etc. and to arrive at a suitable net emission factor for each vehicle category. The 2-wheelers (2-Ws) and 4-wheelers (4-Ws) dominate the total traffic with an 83% share and are main sources of NOx (46%) and CO (77%). The heavy duty vehicles (HDVs: buses and trucks), although they account for only 2% of the vehicle fleet, emit disproportionately high emissions (23% of SO2, 36% of NOx, and 28% of PM). Spatial cell (2 x 2 km)-wise emission inventory of pollutants indicates that the city center has the highest pollutant emissions resulting from a large number of vehicles, mostly 2-Ws, 3-Ws, and passenger cars. The inventory information can be used for short-term and long-term planning to reduce emissions. (C) 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.