HARMFUL IMPACTS OF URBAN TRAFFIC ON AIR POLLUTION

Air pollution has become a major worldwide problem, it has effected millions of life. Traffic has contributed significantly to the development of human civilization, on the other hand it has been great impact on the environment in several ways. The most important impact due to traffic operation is air pollution. It is a need to understand air pollution, methods to quantify and measures to control and mitigate them. Transportation and Traffic plays a major role in contemporary society. But we must also admit that motor vehicles have a major impact on the environment and health. This why it is crucial that we need to quantify air pollution in busiest places like signalized intersections, work places and residential buildings. There are various reasons for this unregulated rise in the pollution levels of the air, one of the major reasons is vehicular pollution which is affecting the life of numerous people who use roads as the major transportation facility which is nearly everyone in the world. This paper deals with the harmful effects of air pollution caused by traffic present in the urban areas. The pollutants that are found in vehicle exhausts significantly affect the health of the people living in urban areas. High levels of nitrogen oxide, carbon di oxide are toxic to humans. Sulphur dioxide causes acid rain. Carbon dioxide contributes to climate change causing global warming. Due this there needs to be change, a change that can help to save the environment. There are various methods that can applied to save on our fossil fuels, reduce pollution and also improve our traffic conditions and improve road safety.