Roads are the backbone to economic activities. They occupy a considerable area of our urban spaces and are primarily designed for vehicular traffic making them significant contributors to air pollution. The major air pollutants contributing to roadside air pollution are particulate matter (PM), NOx, CO and SOx. Major sources of these pollutants are from exhaust pipes of vehicles, wear & tear of tires and deposition of road dust from vehicles. Various notable steps have been taken in an attempt to tackle the problem like banning leaded (Pb) petrol, introducing cleaner and efficient engines & fuel with the induction of successive Bharat Stage standards, etc. However, with incessantly increasing vehicular ownership, air pollution has become a very rampant issue. As the saying goes; “you can’t control what you can’t measure”, measuring air pollutant concentration is an absolute necessity for any pollution abatement strategy. Thus, air pollution monitoring provides crucial insights into the air pollution problem. Results of monitoring data help us understand the trend and pattern of pollutant concentration, the extent of pollution, the dominance of specific pollutants, which resultantly enables us to identify potential sources of pollution. However, roadside pollution monitoring can be tricky sometimes, particularly in urban areas. Due to its complex, varying design and topographic characteristics of roads, it creates a street canyon effect that influences pollution distribution by altering wind patterns. OIZOM’s White Paper on the selection of monitoring location provides comprehensive and scientific information about how to select a monitoring location and how to carry out roadside pollution monitoring.

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ROADSIDE POLLUTION
MONITORING: AN ESSENTIAL FOR
SMART ROADWAYS AND HIGHWAYS

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ROADSIDE POLLUTION MONITORING
Roads are considered backbone to economic
activities.
They occupy a considerable area of our urban
spaces and are primarily designed for vehicular
traffic, which makes them significant contributors
to air pollution.

3. ROADSIDE POLLUTION MONITORING
Major air pollutants emitted from exhaust pipes
of vehicles, wear & tear of tires and deposition of
road dust are,
• Particulate Matter (PM)
• Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx)
• Oxides of Sulfur (SOx)
• Carbon Monoxide (CO)
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4. “You cannot manage,
what you cannot
measure.
”
ROADSIDE POLLUTION MONITORING
Measuring air pollutant concentration is absolute
necessity for air pollution abatement.
Air pollution monitoring provides crucial insights
into the air pollution problem.
Results of monitoring data help us understand
the trend and pattern of pollutant concentration,
the extent of pollution, the dominance of specific
pollutants, which resultantly enables us to
identify potential sources of pollution.
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5. ROADSIDE POLLUTION MONITORING
SMARTER ROADS AND HIGHWAYS WITH
REAL-TIME AIR QUALITY MONITORING
Real-time air pollution monitors such as OIZOM’s
PolludroneTM provides an accurate pollution
measurement at a very economical cost.
Data generated through it can be effectively
integrated into various systems, which enables
multidisciplinary collaboration from various
stakeholders.
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6. ROADSIDE POLLUTION MONITORING
ROADSIDE POLLUTION MONITORING MAKE
ROADS SAFER
Road visibility is a major cause of traffic accidents
around the world.
Real-time air quality monitoring and visibility
monitoring can effectively work as a warning
system.
Smart alerts for pollution level and visibility can
be automatically sent to visual messaging display;
alerting drivers to turn-on headlights, modifying
speed limits, etc. to bring down accident hazards.
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7. ROADSIDE POLLUTION MONITORING
DATA-DRIVEN ENVIRONMENTAL
AUTOMATION
Real-time air quality monitoring data can be
integrated with smart dust suppression systems
such as mist cannons.
For example, when pollution limits exceed the
predefined value on roadways, mist cannons
automatically activate to reduce pollution levels
on roads.
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8. ROADSIDE POLLUTION MONITORING
SMART ROADS ARE ALSO HEALTHY ROADS
For the majority of people, roads are the
dominant pollution exposure spots.
With real-time roadside pollution monitoring, and
the advantage of high spatial density of sensor-
based systems, unprecedented levels of pollution
exposure detail can be developed.
All this data helps us in changing our actions in
such a way so that pollution exposure is reduced.
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9. ROADSIDE POLLUTION MONITORING
ROADSIDE POLLUTION MONITORING COMBINED
WITH DISPERSION MODELLING
Highways usually experience heavy traffic,
especially more polluting heavy-duty vehicles such
as trucks.
It is very important to understand its effect on
nearby residential areas, sensitive ecologies and
farms. Dispersion modelling helps us in doing just
the same.
To carry out dispersion modelling, we must have
accurate monitoring data. Real-time air quality data
provides high-quality input data to dispersion
models.
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10. ROADSIDE POLLUTION MONITORING
SMART AND INTELLIGENT TRAFFIC
MANAGEMENT
To avoid traffic congestion, traffic signals need to be
operated in a very dynamic and optimized manner.
For example, if at a cross-road, a high concentration
of air pollution is observed, the traffic signal can be
changed accordingly to prioritize traffic flow in a
particular direction.
Such a smart and intelligent system works in
coordination and integration with real-time air
quality monitors.
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