To ease smog in Paris, an 'odd' solution
After smog blocked out the view of the Eiffel Tower, authorities in Paris have announced that, at least for Monday, they will bar half of the city's drivers from the roads.聽
According to a ,聽only cars with odd-numbered license plates, as well as cars with at least three passengers and聽all electric and hybrid vehicles, will be permitted to drive in the city.
Additionally, Paris is making public transportation free for all riders. Members of the city's聽聽program will get one free hour, and everyone will get a one day subscription to the city's聽 program.
"I am delighted the state has agreed to put in place a partial driving ban on Monday, which I have been requesting for several days," Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo .
The ban was prompted when Airparif, a nonprofit tasked by the French government to monitor air quality in and around Paris, predicted a return to what are considered dangers levels of PM10 ,that is particles with a diameter no bigger than 10 microns, or 10 millionths of a meter.
, issued in 2005, call for an annual PM10听 mean of no more than 20 micrograms of聽per cubic meter and a 24-hour mean of no more than 50. On Friday,聽PM10 , levels in the Paris region exceeded .
Plume Labs, which monitors air quality in dozens of cities worldwide, found that at one point last week, Paris had the , according to the Associated Press. Other cities in Northern France are also instituting various restrictions to cut pollution.聽
that Paris has imposed similar restrictions twice in the past, most recently in March last year. Traffic聽decreased by roughly 18 percent and pollution particles measured聽fell by 6 percent.
