Traffic air quality index

Vehicle emissions are responsible for a considerable share of urban air pollution concentrations. The traffic air quality index (TAQI) is proposed as a useful tool for evaluating air quality near roadways. The TAQI associates air quality with the equivalent emission from traffic sources and with street structure (roadway structure) as anthropogenic factors. The paper presents a method of determining the TAQI and defines the degrees of harmfulness of emitted pollution. It proposes a classification specifying a potential threat to human health based on the TAQI value and shows an example of calculating the TAQI value for real urban streets. It also considers the role that car traffic plays in creating a local UHI.