北京奥运机动车限行措施昨日启动

Beijing's normally smog-shrouded skyline was clearly visible yesterday as the government's last-minute Olympic pollution controls went into effect across the city and nearby districts.

For the next two months, car drivers will be allowed to use their vehicles only on alternate days – depending on whether their registration plate ends in an odd or even number – in an attempt to reduce Beijing's notorious congestion and air pollution.

Work on the city's tallest building, the China World Trade Tower III, was suspended yesterday as a construction ban went into effect, and numerous polluting factories in wide areas surrounding the Chinese capital shut temporarily or reduced output in order to help clear the air during next month's Olympics.

“The air is very good today, but it rained a bit last night and at lunchtime, which might have something to do with it,” Feng Caihua, a Beijing resident, said yesterday.

Officials said the traffic restrictions should take nearly half of the city's 3.3m cars off the road and reduce exhaust emissions by 63 per cent during the Olympic period.

About 10,000 cameras and other monitoring devices have been installed to catch drivers who flout the odd-even number-plate restrictions. Offenders will be fined Rmb100 ($14, €9, £7).

Concerns over the shocking levels of air pollution in Beijing have led a number of national teams to train elsewhere. Haile Gebrselassie, the leading Ethiopian runner, has withdrawn from the marathon because he fears the grime will exacerbate his asthma.

The Chinese government says it has spent more than Rmb120bn to improve the city's air quality, and has been trying to promote the games as the first-ever “green Olympics”.

But China has had a hard time convincing the world of its green credentials in a year when some environmentalists estimate that the country overtook the US as the world's biggest carbon emitter.

At the weekend, the city unveiled three new underground railway lines, and officials have promised to put 2,000 more buses on the road to help transport the estimated 4m extra commuters who will switch to public transport on the days they cannot use their cars.

随着北京机动车限行措施在北京及周边地区生效，北京通常雾霭笼罩的轮廓线昨日变得清晰可见。

在未来两个月，取决于车牌尾号是单号还是双号，汽车驾驶员只有隔日才能驾车，以减少北京出了名的交通堵塞和空气污染。

随着建筑禁令开始生效，北京的最高建筑——中国国际贸易中心三期(China World Trade Tower III)工程昨日已经停工。为了帮助净化下个月奥运会期间的空气，北京周边广大地区的众多污染性工厂已暂时停工或减产。

北京市民冯彩华（音译）昨日表示：“今天空气非常好，但昨天晚上和今天中午下了一点雨，可能和这有点关系。”

政府官员们表示，在奥运会期间，限行措施将使北京330万辆汽车中的一半不能上路，使尾气排放减少63%。

北京已安装大约1万台摄像机以及其它监控设备，以抓获违反单双号限行规定的驾驶员。违规者将被处以100元人民币（合14美元）的罚款。

对北京令人震惊的空气污染水平的担忧，已导致许多国家队去其它地方训练。世界长跑名将埃塞俄比亚的海尔•格布雷塞拉西(Haile Gebrselassie)已退出马拉松比赛，他担心空气污染会加剧他的哮喘。

中国政府表示，已投入资金逾1200亿元人民币用于改善北京的空气质量，并且一直在努力把本届奥运会打造为史上第一届“绿色奥运会”。

不过，中国很难说服世界相信它的绿色资质。据一些环境问题专家估计，中国今年将超过美国，成为世界最大的碳排放国。

上周末，北京开通三条地铁线，而且政府官员承诺，将会增开2000多辆公交车，以帮助疏导新增客流量。据估计，由于车主不能使用私家车，转而使用公共交通，将使北京公交系统日客流量增加约400万人次。 （实习编辑：顾萍）