Skip to main content

Research into weather impact on transport

Finland's VTT Technical Research Centre is heading a research project into the harmful impact of weather phenomena on transport in the EU. The EWENT project will set a precedent as no previous studies have been conducted on this scale. It will investigate evidence that heavy rainfall in particular impacts on European transport as with climate change, the occurrence of extreme weather is expected to increase. Weather is a major factor in traffic flow and safety as sudden storms and flash floods can paralyse
May 17, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Finland’s 814 VTT Technical Research Centre is heading a research project into the harmful impact of weather phenomena on transport in the EU.

The EWENT project will set a precedent as no previous studies have been conducted on this scale. It will investigate evidence that heavy rainfall in particular impacts on European transport as with climate change, the occurrence of extreme weather is expected to increase. Weather is a major factor in traffic flow and safety as sudden storms and flash floods can paralyse an entire transport system and cause serious financial and human losses.

More information on these phenomena and their impacts is needed in order to minimise or prevent damage caused. The international research project Extreme Weather Impacts on European Networks of Transport (EWENT) headed by VTT is exploring the impacts of extreme weather phenomena on various forms of transport. The aim is to determine which weather phenomena are the most harmful for transport and what the costs of their impacts might be in the EU.

The research is focusing on atmospheric phenomena, which are more severe than normal and which may pose a danger to traffic and transportation in particular.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Lack of communication jeopardises road weather information
    February 3, 2012
    A lack of communications means that the case for more widespread use of road weather information systems is still not happening, says Vaisala's Jon Tarleton. More effective exchanges up and down the political scale are needed, he adds
  • Study in Finland shows infrastructure is a good investment
    March 28, 2012
    VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the University of Oulu and Aalto University in Finland have analysed the financial statements for 2002-2009 of companies, public utilities, and municipal units that own infrastructure, including water services, as well as road, port, airport, railway and electricity networks. Owning infrastructure is relatively risk-free. The most profitable is the energy sector where the return on investment was about 13%. The average annual return on investment of ports was 10%. T
  • Vehicle data translator for road weather monitoring
    February 1, 2012
    Sheldon Drobot, Michael Chapman and Amanda Anderson, NCAR, and Paul Pisano, FHWA, detail latest results of testing of a vehicle data translator for road weather monitoring and information applications. The use of vehicle sensor data to improve weather and road condition products, envisioned as part of the US Department of Transportation Research and Innovative Technology Administration's (RITA's) IntelliDriveSM initiative, could revolutionise the provision of road weather information to transportation syste
  • Wireless traffic data in real time
    January 31, 2012
    The effect of moving objects on the electromagnetic landscape set up by cellular telephony networks can be detected and interpreted to give real-time traffic data across large geographical areas at low cost. Here, we revisit the Celldar concept. Global economic downturn has pushed public-sector agencies, transport administrations among them, to push even harder for cost efficiencies. Unfortunately, when it comes to transport safety and efficiency the public sector often has to work up to a cost rather than