Author(s)

A. Loster-Mańka, K. Karkalis, G. Arapis & M. Jedziniak

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is the analysis of the change in car emissions from 1986 to 2007 and by consequence, their impact on the general atmospheric conditions in the city of Athens in correlation with the Athens Traffic Restriction Ring. At the first stage, an observation of the increment of the vehicle fleet in the city of Athens from the mid 1980s to 2007 was made, and its impact on the atmospheric conditions was assessed. At the second stage, based on this data, a possible car fleet number in 2011 was predicted. The different traffic volume data, obtained and elaborated between the period 1986 and 2007, shows no significant increment of the traffic flow inside the Athens Restriction Ring. However, an increment of traffic volume (number of vehicles) was found in the observation points situated outside the Ring. Concentrations of particular pollutants (CO, NO, NO2, SO2 and PM10) decreased, despite the fact that the number of vehicles remained constant inside the Ring, due to new technology. The decrease is, most of the time, not sufficient to keep pollution levels in compliance with the EU legislation limits. A prediction for the year 2011 was made on the basis of the trend line obtained while using traffic volume data for the period between 1986 and 2007. For the year 2011, the number of cars inside the Athens Restriction Ring will not change. However, the trend outside the Ring shows the increment in traffic volume in the next two years. As a result of using COPERT IV, a strong correlation between vehicle emissions and pollution concentrations was found at a factor of 0.91.

Keywords

Athens Restriction Ring, air pollution, vehicle emission