The aim of this study is to analyse the amount of atmospheric pollution caused by vehicular traffic and the public strike, during which vehicular traffic is highly curtailed, offers an excellent opportunity for our purpose. The present study is carried out through systematic in situ measurements of particulate matter (PM), black carbon (BC) and carbon monoxide (CO) over the urban region of Hyderabad, India during two public strikes on 24 December 2009 and 18-21 January 2010.