In an attempt to check the rising levels of pollution and formation of smog, Paris has decided to ban half of the personal vehicles of the city from taking to the streets.

Mayor Anne Hidalgo on Saturday asked the regulating authorities to ensure prevention of one in every two cars from taking to the streets in the city. Besides, the city Mayor has also asked the authorities to make all public transport temporarily free in Paris as well as neighbouring towns. The initiative has been made by the city authorities in a bid to encourage use of public transportation system by the residents.

“I am delighted the state has agreed to put in place a partial driving ban on Monday, which I have been requesting for several days,” Hidalgo said on micro-blogging site Twitter.

La #pollution est une question de santé publique qui nous concerne tous : http://t.co/u6w0reXOkapic.twitter.com/rmi0BXP3ZF

— Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) March 20, 2015

The city officials will only allow personal vehicles with odd-numbered license plates on the road. However, some other types of vehicles like ambulance, taxis and electric cars will be permitted to run on the city roads in order to avoid any inconvenience to the public.

The level of air pollution was recorded far above the European safety standards for the third straight day on Thursday.

Similar emergency measures were also implemented last year in Paris when there was a particular bad spike in the levels of air pollution.

Several other cities in different countries have taken similar initiatives to combat smog.

If talk about the United States, Los Angeles holds the top spot in the list of cities having the worst smog, which violates federal health standards for ozone, i.e. an average of 122 days per year.