MADRID, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Madrid City Hall on Thursday confirmed that it would activate the second level of its anti-air pollution protocol on Friday as contamination levels remain high with no sign of changing weather conditions.
Level one of the protocol, which limits the speed on the city's M30 ring road and access roads in and out of the city to 70 km an hour, was activated late on Tuesday night after seven monitoring stations in the city measured levels of over 180 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide per cubic meter for a period of over two hours.
Despite Thursday being a public holiday in Spain, those levels had not declined.
This means non-residents will not be able to park within a large area of the city center, known as the Regulated Parking Service Zone between 9am and 9pm, where parking meters will not issue tickets, while speed restrictions on access roads will also be maintained.
The Madrid City Hall adds that on Friday morning it will further evaluate the situation before announcing at midday what, if any measures will be taken over the weekend.
