Routing apps, such as Google Maps, are always on the go to capture detailed information that could help pin emissions hotspots in real-time. Researchers at the University of Birmingham say their study could potentially be a cost-effective way to apprehend traffic.
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"A lot of guidelines and policy on air quality management are based on hourly time snapshots and on the average amount of traffic on a typical day of the year,” says Helen Pearce, a PhD researcher at the University of Birmingham's School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences.
Findings were published in the journal Weather.
"Our approach could provide significant insights into real-world vehicle behaviours," says Dr Zhaoya Gong, corresponding author on the study. "As we start to see more electric and hybrid vehicles on the road, the emissions picture starts to get more complicated because there will be less exhaust emissions, but we will still see pollution from brakes, tyres and road surface wear -- all these will vary significantly according to the speed of the vehicle so this sort of data will be vital for developing accurate emissions models."
Source: Science Daily
