With the coming of the Olympic Games, and the problem of air pollution not easing, China has launched traffic restrictions in a last minute ditch to ease the air pollution problem.

Vehicles with even and odd plates will hit the roads only on alternate days, which effectively means just half of the capital’s 3.29 million automobiles can run on any given day. This restriction will last till September 20th, when Paralympic Games end.

Pollution has been one of the biggest problems for the Olympics organizers, who are banking on the traffic and industrial restrictions to ensure blue skies for the athletes and other visitors, especially because car emissions are the major source of air pollution in Beijing.

He Kebin, a professor at the department of environmental science and engineering of Tsinghua University, said Beijing had met almost all major indicators of air quality for the Olympics, except that for the inhalable particulate.

“Vehicles account for more than 50 percent of inhalable particulate, and traffic restrictions are the most effective way to deal with it,” He said.

Environmentalists estimate that the even-and-odd number plate rule and the ban on vehicles that failed to meet emission standards would cut emissions by 63 percent.

But some residents has actually found a way to counter the even and odd number plate rule - Just buy another car with a different number plate. Well, you got to be rich to that.

Video clip regarding the traffic restriction - Via Reuters

Source - Chinadaily