Air pollution has become part of the daily existence of many people who work, live and use the streets in Asian cities. Each day millions of city dwellers breathe air polluted with concentrations of chemicals, smoke and particles that dramatically exceed World Health Organization guideline values. Deteriorating air quality has resulted in significant impacts on human health and environment in Asia. This book provides a comprehensive and comparative assessment of the current status and challenges in urban air pollution management in 20 cities in the Asian region. It examines the effects on human health and the environment and future implications for planning, transport and energy sectors. National and local governments have begun to develop air quality management strategies to address the deterioration in urban air quality; however, the scope and effectiveness of such strategies vary widely. This book benchmarks these air quality management strategies, examines successes and failures in these cities and presents strategies for improving air quality management in cities across Asia and the rest of our rapidly urbanizing world. Information on air quality in Asia is clearly presented with easy-to-read city profiles, tables and graphs. This is an essential resource for all those concerned with urban air quality management, not just in Asia but in cities across our rapidly urbanizing world. Cities covered Bangkok, Beijing, Busan, Colombo, Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kathmandu, Kolkata, Metro Manila, Mumbai, New Delhi, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Surabaya, Taipei and Tokyo

This book provides an overview of air quality in urban environments in Europe, focusing on air pollutant emission sources and formation mechanisms, measurement and modeling strategies, and future perspectives. The emission sources described are biomass burning, vehicular traffic, industry and agriculture, but also African dust and long-range transport of pollutants across the European regions. The impact of these emission sources and processes on atmospheric particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen oxides and volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds is discussed and critical areas for particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide in Europe are identified. Finally, this volume presents future perspectives, mainly regarding upcoming air quality monitoring strategies, metrics of interest, such as submicron and nanoparticles, and indoor and outdoor exposure scenarios.

Urban Transportation and Air Pollution synthesizes state-of-the-art methods on estimating near-road concentrations of roadway emissions. The book provides the information needed to make estimates using methods based on a minimal set of model inputs that can be applied by a wide range of users in many situations. Discussions include methods to estimate traffic emission under numerous urban driving conditions, the uncertainty of emission models, and the effects of road configurations, such as near-road solid barriers. Final sections present dispersion models that link traffic emissions with near road concentrations in urban environments. Addressing transportation-related environmental issues is extremely important as urban areas are constantly searching for ways to mitigate impacts from transportation sources. This book helps to explain dispersion models, a critical tool for estimating the impact of roadway emissions in cities. Compiles and synthesizes the state-of-the-science methods for estimating roadway emissions Demonstrates, with clear examples, how modeling methods reduce uncertainties in real-world problems Emphasizes how local-scale, semi-empirical, steady-state modeling can be applied using only a small set of inputs Offers an overview of the meteorology that governs air pollution dispersion in cities

"Around the world, cities provide plenty of opportunities such as better education, advanced health treatment facilities, better employment, commerce, and trade as compared to rural areas. Therefore, more than half the world's people live and work together in urban communities, and it is projected that by the year 2030, three out of five people will stay in cities. The unrestrained and rapid growth of cities has also brought environmental degradation and causes many serious problems such as worsening of air quality, loss of natural habitat and species diversity, and increased human health risks associated with heat waves, noise and crowding. In most urban areas of developing countries, a variety of harmful air pollutants such as particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen and sulfur oxides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are emitted from a variety of sources, mainly the burning of wood, fossil fuels and vehicular emissions, which adversely affects the health of human beings, animals, and other living creatures. In the urban environment, trees provide many economic, social, and environmental benefits to people, such as aesthetic beauty, improvement of property values, erosion prevention, storm water management, noise reduction, mental health development and crime reduction. In addition, trees help cool the air by shading surfaces that otherwise would absorb the sun's energy and then reradiate it out as heat. Trees also cool the ambient air. Urban trees on average reduce air temperatures on summer days by 2-4 °F, although in some circumstances the cooling effect can be even larger. Trees also sequester carbon, helping to mitigate climate change. The efficiency of atmospheric cleansing by trees in congested cities could be improved by planting more trees other than shrubs or herbs. Generally, avenue trees act as living filters to decrease pollution through absorption, accumulation, and detoxification. Trees remove gaseous air pollutants such as ozone, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide mainly by uptake via leaf stomata, although some gases are removed by the plant surface. Once inside the leaf, gaseous air pollutants diffuse into intercellular spaces and may be absorbed by water films to form acids or react with inner leaf surfaces. Though some particles can be absorbed into the tree, most particles settle on the branches, leaves and twigs of plants and are washed out by the rain. Throughout the world, different advanced technologies such as smog-free towers in the Netherlands and adhesive roads for particulate matter in London have been applied. However, these technologies are extremely costly and unaffordable for countries like India and therefore the most eco-friendly and cost-effective way is plantation of tolerant tree species alongside highways, city streets, in parks, and in residential yards"--

This contributed volume is primarily intended for graduate and professional audiences. The book provides a basic understanding of urban air quality issues, root causes for local and urban air pollution, monitoring and modelling techniques, assessment, and control options to manage air quality at local and urban scale. The book also offers useful information on indoor air quality and smart sensors, which are gaining much importance in current times.

The world's cities are choking on pollution from traffic and industry. With the health of over 1.6 billion people under threat, poor urban air quality is fast becoming one of them most pressing environmental problems of our times. Smog Alert examines the causes and scale of urban air pollution, identifying who is most at risk, and what particular health risks various pollutants pose. It then considers an effective framework for air quality management, so that national and city authorities can consider what pollution control polices and measures are needed to deliver healthy urban air quality, and to sustain it in the future. Having established the background and framework, the book examines the existing and alternative measures to monitor and combat the declining air quality. It assesses smog alert systems; the potential for cleaner car and fuel technology; sustainable traffic management and public transport policies; and methods of controlling both industrial and residential emissions. Detailed case studies illustrate the severity and breadth of the problem - from the first serious photochemical smogs in Los Angeles to the dire warning offered by Mexico City; and from London (the city which coined the word 'smog') to Athens' pollution phenomenon, the 'nefos'. Drawing on the lessons learned from past experience, Smog Alert provides a comprehensive analysis of how health air quality may yet be achieved in the world's cities.

In October 2003, a group of experts met in Beijing under the auspices of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Engineering, and National Academy of Engineering (NAE)/National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies to continue a dialogue and eventually chart a rational course of energy use in China. This collection of papers is intended to introduce the reader to the complicated problems of urban air pollution and energy choices in China.