Rome and Milan - joined by
Florence, Bologna and other cities - again battled dangerously
high smog levels Monday ahead of a government summit scheduled
for Wednesday.
Meteorologists said there was no chance of cleansing rain
to ease the situation until at least the New Year.
Drivers with license plates ending in uneven numbers were
banned from the taking to the roads of the nation's capital as
authorities tried to bring down the smog levels.
In Milan, where 1,500 checks resulted in 300 fines, the
city streets were eerily silent as 200 traffic cop patrols made
sure all private vehicles stayed off the roads in a total ban.
Florence Mayor Dario Nardella, meanwhile, banned cars from
the city centre until December 31.
Other northern cities including Bologna, Modena and Bergamo
took similar measures.
Rome Commissioner Francesco Paolo Tronca decided to ban
traffic in the capital for six hours on Monday and Tuesday in a
bid to reduce pollution levels that are above the legal limit.
Private vehicles are banned from travelling in the
city's Fascia Verde (Green Zone) from 10:00 to 16:00 on those
days.
Milan announced it was adopting a similar ban for three
days this week, from Monday to Wednesday.
The towns in the Milan metropolitan area are also taking
part.
Low pollution vehicles, such as hybrids, methane-powered,
LPG or Euro 6 cars and Euro 2 scooters, are exempt from the Rome
ban.
Tronca's order also limits heating in homes and offices to
18 degrees centigrade.
On the days of the ban a 1.50-euro ticket to use buses,
trams and the metro in Rome will last all day instead of the
usual 90 minutes.
Rome has tried on several occasions to reduce smog levels
by banning cars with number plates ending in an odd number from
travelling on one day and then banning those ending with an even
number the next, but the results have been disappointing.
The situation has been made worse by a lack of rain in
recent months.
Milan has been over the legal smog limit for 85 days this
year, Legambiente environmental watchdog group said earlier in
December.
The legal limit is 35 days a year of pollution with more
than 50 micrograms per cubic metre of particulate matter (PM10).
Particulates are the deadliest form of air pollution due to
their ability to penetrate deep into the lungs and blood streams
unfiltered, causing permanent DNA mutations, heart attacks, and
premature death, according to the US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
The World Health Organization has designated airborne
particulates a Group 1 carcinogen.
Turin is the next worst offender with 73 days over the
limit followed by Naples with 59 and Rome with 49 days,
Legambiente said.
On the weather front, those looking for a reprieve thanks
to some needed rain were disappointed Monday.
A stationary high pressure front will keep the weather mild
and the smog alert high for much of this week, forecasters said.
Temperatures are expected to drop sharply beginning on
Thursday.
Precipitation - which cleans the air of smog - is not
expected until the beginning of January 2016.
Meanwhile, after the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement
accused the government of "murdering" some 68,000 "extra" smog
victims, Left Ecology and Freedom party (SEL) leader Paolo Cento
lashed out at the government Monday for "defaulting" in the face
of the smog emergency, saying cars should be banned in Rome for
two weeks.
"The smog emergency - which has been going on for weeks not
days - is also a health and economic emergency costing 15
billion euros a year," Cento said.
"A rain dance is not enough, we need planned measures in
the immediate and medium term," he added.
Environment Minister Gian Luca Galletti has called Italian
mayors and regional governors to the environment ministry
Wednesday.
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