Car bans introduced in Italian cities due to smog

Rome and Milan have ordered no-car days to combat pollution, which has hit unhealthy levels for weeks mainly because no rain has fallen to wash away the smog.

A six-hour ban on cars is being introduced on Monday and Tuesday in Rome while Milan’s anti-pollution measure sees six-hour bans daily from Monday to Wednesday.

In Rome, home heating is blamed along with heavy traffic for the eye-stinging, throat-irritating air.

A cyclist rides through the Porta Venezia area of Milan in Italy where travelling by car will be banned for parts of the next three days in an attempt to lessen smog brought about by the absence of wind and rain. Photograph: Daniele Mascolo/EPA.

Until air quality improves, thermostat settings in Rome’s homes and offices cannot exceed 18 degrees.

The total daily hours that furnaces can run is being reduced from 12 to eight, except for schools and hospitals. But many Romans ignore the rules and leave the heat on all day.

Warm, dry weather is worsening the pollution problem.