Urban Air Pollution and Traffic-Related Contaminants: Sources, Impacts and Challenges
A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Air Quality".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 34
Special Issue Editors
Interests: air pollution; urban areas; monitoring; air quality; particulate matter; health risk assessment; emission sources; pollution mitigation
2. Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR/Physics), University of Helsinki, PL 64, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
Interests: atmospheric and environmental sciences; air pollution; urban and indoor air quality; dynamics and physical characterization of aerosol particles; emissions and fate of atmospheric aerosols; dry deposition; exposure; modeling, analytical, and numerical methods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: atmospheric physics; aerosol monitoring; aerosol lidar, climate change; particulate matter
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Urban air pollution remains one of the greatest environmental challenges currently faced by cities, directly and indirectly impacting human health. It is a leading cause of morbidity, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
Pollutants originate from various sources; however, vehicles are widely recognized as the main source of air pollution in large urban areas. Emissions from vehicles include those produced by exhaust systems and other vehicle components. The characteristics of these emissions are influenced by factors such as fleet composition, fuel type, vehicle age, maintenance practices, and traffic dynamics. Their impact is strongly influenced by traffic volumes, driving patterns, and vehicle-specific characteristics.
Among the most concerning pollutants for public health associated with vehicular emissions are particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), tropospheric ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs). Particularly noteworthy are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are widespread environmental contaminants known for their mutagenic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic properties.
About 56% of the global population—approximately 4.4 billion people—currently reside in urban areas, a figure expected to increase to 68% by 2050. Many of these cities have few or no air quality monitoring stations, leading to a lack of reliable air quality data. Furthermore, in most large urban areas, vehicular traffic is the primary source of pollutants. Despite this, there is often insufficient air quality monitoring and a lack of detailed information on vehicle fleets to analyze their emissions and impact on air quality.
This Special Issue seeks to gather research focusing on urban air pollution, particularly in regions with limited environmental monitoring. We welcome studies addressing vehicle fleet emissions, including their role in air quality degradation and potential impacts on public health, and mitigation proposals.
Dr. Ana Carolina Mateos
Prof. Dr. Tareq Hussein
Dr. Panagiotis Kokkalis
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- urban air pollution
- vehicular emissions
- air quality monitoring
- public health impact
- particulate matter (PM)
- aerosols
- polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
- emission mitigation strategies
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