Paris chokes under worst winter air pollution in decade

Paris choked Wednesday under its worst winter pollution in a decade, with commuters enjoying free public transport and half of the cars ordered off the road in an effort clear the air. The surge in pollution has been driven by cold weather and near windless conditions that have trapped car exhaust, wood smoke and other pollutants, said the French capital's AirParif air monitoring service.
Though bad by local standards, current levels of fine airborne particles known as PM10 in Paris are around 60 percent of levels in notoriously polluted Beijing and a fraction of readings in New Delhi, known as one of the world's most polluted capitals. City authorities announced a second day of traffic restrictions, with a ban imposed on private cars with registration plates ending in even numbers from between 5:30 am (0430 GMT) and midnight. They imposed the same restriction on cars with odd-numbered plates on Tuesday.
Public transport in the city was also free for a second day running to encourage commuters to leave their vehicles at home, while school children are being prevented from exercising outside. "This is a record period (of pollution) for the last 10 years," Karine Leger of AirParif told AFP by telephone. For more than a week now, Airparif has published readings of PM10 at more than 80 microgrammes per cubic metre of air particles, triggering the pollution alert.
It recorded the highest level of pollution last Thursday, reporting 146 microgrammes/m3. Other parts of France were also facing pollution alerts, with the air particle concentrations rising to dangerous levels in the south-east and the north of the country.