Restrictions on cars entering Madrid are likely to be imposed in an effort to reduce the city’s high levels of air pollution.
The nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere is above the permitted levels, often creating smog over the capital.
This had already prompted the city government to introduce last year several anti-pollution measures, including reduction of the speed limit on the orbital motorway around the centre and a ban on parking for non-residents.
On Tuesday, the council warned that if nitrogen dioxide levels remain high on Wednesday, it will enact a measure to forbid 50% of vehicles from entering seven central districts of the centre.
Number plates ending with even numbers will be permitted on even days and those with odd numbers may enter on odd days with few exemptions such as emergency services, taxis, motorbikes, removal vans and zero-emission cars.
Last March, the World Health Organisation reported that outdoor air pollution had gone up by 8% around the world in the last five years.
This is exposing billions of people in the world to dangerous air.
Pollution in the air is responsible for more than three million deaths every year and that number is expected to double by just 2050 as both urban population and car numbers increase.
