When less travel means more carbon: How rainfall-induced shifts from public transit to cars increase urban transport emissions
Open accessAbstract
Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation events, with significant implications for urban mobility and the associated carbon emissions. This study examines how rainfall-induced changes in travel demand vary by mode of transportation and how these differences can alter per-passenger carbon intensity and total system-level emissions. Using daily panel data for 2024 from two administrative districts in Busan, South Korea, precipitation elasticities were estimated separately for private cars, buses, and the metro. The results show that rainfall reduces travel demand across all modes-higher rainfall can lower total system-level carbon emissions. Nevertheless, private car use is less elastic to rainfall than public transport; many car users may continue traveling in adverse weather conditions. This lower sensitivity can increase per-passenger carbon intensity in urban transport systems. Furthermore, if rainfall prompts a modal shift from public transport to private cars among mandatory trip makers, the total system emissions may increase despite an overall decline in travel demand. By combining mode-specific elasticity estimates with carbon intensity factors, this study identifies the thresholds at which rainfall-driven mode shifts result in net emission increases. These findings highlight the importance of transport adaptation strategies in mitigating the risk of adverse modal shifts resulting from changing precipitation patterns.
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- Authors
- Jang, J., Sung, M., & Hwang, J.
- Affiliations
- Land and Housing Institute (KR)
- Pusan National University (KR)
- Corresponding author
- Hwang, Jinuk
- ORCID
- Hwang, Jinuk
- Venue
- Science of The Total Environment
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2026-01
- Volume
- 1013
- Pages
- 181269
- ISSN
- 0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W7117363784
- Cited by
- 2
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2
- FWCI
- 1.52
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- The Science of The Total Environment (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Korea Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport (RS-2024-00407071)
- National Research Foundation of Korea
- Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement
- Korea Ministry of Education (RS-2023-00301938)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Transportation › Transportation Planning and Optimization
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Energy, Environment, and Transportation Policies
- Social Sciences › Transportation › Urban Transport and Accessibility
- Keywords
- rainfall, heavy rainfall, urban transport emissions, modal shift, public transport, private car use, metro, travel demand, climate change adaptation, Busan
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