In an effort to cope with the worst winter pollution in a decade, the French capital of Paris has introduced traffic restrictions, including an odd-even scheme similar to the one implemented in Delhi earlier this year. All public transport networks in the city has been made free for travellers since Tuesday, The Independent reported.
On Thursday, only drivers with even-numbered vehicle registration plates were allowed to drive in the city. The pollution crisis began last week after a fog composed of particulate matter descended on the French capital. Air quality monitoring agency AirParif published a reading of over 80 micrograms of of PM 10 (particulate matters that are 10 or less than 10 micrometres in diameter) per cubic metre of air.
This is the first time that the odd-even scheme has been implemented for two consecutive days, according to The Guardian. The overall programme has only been introduced four times in the past two decades because of high levels of pollution. The president of an environmental group said there were more than 48,000 premature deaths in France each year because of air pollution. “It’s the third biggest cause of death, but politicians only react under the pressure of public opinion,” said Sebastien Vray.
Paris is not the only European city to have introduced such measures to tackle high levels of pollution. Lyon, France’s second-biggest city, has said that it will begin its own version of an odd-even scheme from Friday. Athens began introducing such restrictions in the 1990s. Internationally, such schemes have also been introduced by Beijing and Delhi, with mixed results.
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