Modelling the effect of electro mobiblity on the air quality in Hamburg

Road traffic is a cause of noise and emits various pollutants with direct negative effects on human health. Since its binding introduction in 2001, the annual limit value of 40 μg/m3 for NO2 has been regularly exceeded at all traffic monitoring stations in Hamburg. Although annual average NO2 concentrations at the traffic stations have declined in the last decade, the situation continues to be problematic. Four scenarios for traffic development were designed to investigate the effect of introducing electro mobility on the air quality in the inner city of Hamburg. Results from city-scale chemistry-transport simulations show that fast transition to electric vehicles can greatly improve the air quality in the inner city of Hamburg in 2020, avoiding the need for driving bans for gasoline and diesel cars.