NEW DELHI – Authorities in the Indian capital banished from the roads cars with number plates ending in an odd number in a bid to cut hazardous air pollution shrouding the city.
The city government has declared a public health emergency, and imposed an “odd-even” system on private vehicles, at least until Nov. 15.
Vehicular exhaust along with emissions from industry contributed to more than 50 percent of Delhi’s air pollution on most days through the year, according to official estimates.
The city also ordered schools and construction work shut on Monday.
According to independent online air quality index monitor AirVisual, New Delhi was the most polluted major city in the world on Monday, at twice the level of Lahore in Pakistan, which was a distant second.(Reuters)
