Car congestion driving up CO2 levels

Mumbai: Bumper-to-bumper traffic in Mumbai is not only pushing up citizens' frustration levels, it is also increasing vehicular emissions on key routes in the city by 33% to 75% during peak traffic hours. 

    A study prepared by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) which will be released on Thursday shows that travelling from Worli to Chembur after 6pm makes a petrol car guzzle nearly twice as much fuel as during off-peak hours. This doubles the vehicle's carbon dioxide emissions from 390gm, during the trip, to 780gm. 
    The study says that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region will be in grave peril by 2050 if cars keep hitting its roads at the same rate as today. Going by projections, by that time, particulate matter (PM10) emissions in Mumbai from vehicles will more than double—from an already high 1,583 tonnes per year to 3,666 tonnes—and so will nitrogen oxide (NO2) emissions. 
CHOKE-A-BLOCK IN THE CITY 
    Traffic jams send vehicular emissions 
on key routes soaring by up to 75% 
    For eg, a drive from CST to Parel takes nearly 22 minutes more duringpeak hours. This means nearly two more litres of fuel 
    NEERI study says emissions of particulate matter and nitrogen will more than double, and that of carbon dioxide by 60% by 2050 
    Study shows pollutant load is highest in Mumbai, followed by Thane & Navi Mumbai