India could pick a lesson or two from China on ways to control traffic-related pollution, including ways to reduce the number of vehicles plying on roads.
Last month, Chinese environmental experts achieved major success in reducing the amount of pollutant discharge in capital Beijing, thanks to a ban on movement of traffic for four days.According to the official Xinhua news agency, the traffic ban resulted in a cutting down of pollutants by 5815.2 tons. A report released by Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau over the weekend said that the ban was introduced between August 17 and August 20.
About 1.3 million cars were barred from plying on city roads each day to test the effect on air quality for the 2008 Olympic Games.
Drivers with even-numbered and odd-numbered license plates, excluding taxis, buses and emergency vehicles, were told to stay off the roads on alternate dates or face fines.
During the test, the emissions of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and inhalant particulate matter (IPM), a major air pollutant, were cut by 87 tons, 1,362 tons and 4.8 tons respectively on each of the four days.
The report says the air quality was apparently improved in Beijing based on monitoring on air quality carried out by China National Environmental Monitoring Center, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences and Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences.
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The nitrogen dioxide column density also dropped by 17 percent to 29 percent in Beijing on each of the four days, compared with that on August 16.
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