ASSESSMENT OF VEHICULAR EMISSIONS AND ITS IMPACT ON CLIMATE CHANGE IN URBAN AREAS OF KATHMANDU VALLEY, NEPAL

Abstract

Cities are key hubs of the transportation sector. With rapid growing economies and population, there is an increasing trend of expansion of urban sprawl and auto-mobilization. This has a direct effect on the level of transport demand, travel patterns and its impact on the environment. This research is focused on studying vehicular emissions in context of urban areas of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. The cities within the valley are in the stage of rapid urbanization and with it, there has been a sharp increase in travel demand and vehicle number, with growing population and high level of economic activities. This has resulted in a situation of unsustainable mobility, due to excessive vehicular emissions and is causing severe negative impact on urban climate. In this research, urban transport model (4 step) is used, to predict travel pattern of the city and resulting emissions. The results show that urban transport sector is having a significant share in the total emissions and the major cause of it is due to excessive use of vehicles, especially private. Thus, it highlights the need to cut down excessive emissions by promoting sustainable urban transport planning strategies.