PARIS, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on Tuesday decided to prolong alternating traffic for more 24 hours due to persistent dangerously high pollution levels.
Facing "an exceptionally serious health crisis, alternating traffic plans and free public transport set on Dec. 6 will be extended on Wednesday," Hidalgo said in a statement.
Only cars with odd license plates, electric or hybrid vehicles and vehicles with more than three people on board will be able circulate in the French capital on Wednesday.
The Parisian mayor called on locals who "have been exposed since Nov. 30 to an important peak of air pollution" to use clean modes of transport such as Velib and Autolib, which are public sharing services for bicycles and electric cars.
The Airparif Association, an environmental body responsible for monitoring air quality in the Ile-de-France region, expects the pollution index to be high on Wednesday due to increased PM10 pollutants.
