What is the difference between 拥堵 and 堵车?

Question

I found the following sentence:

这次降雪给交通带来了严重影响，一些高速公路封闭，一些地段出现拥堵。

However, another word I already knew is 堵车, which I have seen more times.

So now I wonder whether there is any difference between these two words, and if there is, what is it?

Answer 1

The main difference between 堵车 and 拥堵 is that 堵车 is usually used as a verb, while 拥堵 is usually used as a noun. For example, 前面堵车了 and 前面交通出现了拥堵; 防范交通拥堵, not 防范交通堵车;

Answer 2

堵车 is oral, while 拥堵 is formal.

Answer 3

拥堵 implies there is too many vehicles on the road,so that they move slowly.yes,it does not refer to human.when we talk about human or animal with the same meaning we use 拥挤.堵车 means there is a traffic jam,and sometimes it does not mean there are too many vehicles,maybe an accident cause that.拥 implies there are too many things.one of its orginal meaning is that something very many from a wide area or big space going through a small gate or a small hole like a bottleneck,so that they crowding about the one side of the hole or gate.