Paris to pick car ban days when pollution spikes

Paris will make new efforts to stop pollution by cutting traffic in half when air quality is low.

Paris will now be allowed to bar cars from the roads following spikes in air pollution. Image by Juan Antonio F. Segal / CC BY 2.0

The country’s minister of ecology agreed that the city of Paris should be in charge of approving traffic bans when air pollution spikes, reports the Guardian. The ban would allow drivers to hit the road on alternate days, dependent on whether they have a license plate ending in an odd or even number.

This method was tried in Paris earlier this year after high pollution levels, but will now be allowed whenever the city deems it necessary. Earlier in the year, Paris was deemed more polluted than Shanghai for a short period.

The news comes weeks before Paris hosts  the United Nations climate change conference, where global leaders will try to reach a new agreement that will limit greenhouse gas emissions.