Madrid bans half of cars to fight smog

Madrid's city hall on Wednesday announced that it had ordered half of most private cars off the roads to fight pollution, a first in Spain.

From Thursday, "vehicles with even-number registration plates will be allowed to drive around on even-number days and cars with odd-number registration plates on odd-number days," it said in a statement.

The measure will be re-evaluated on a daily basis depending on pollution levels.