Major Italian cities are resorting to periodic daily bans on cars and even scooters in an attempt to meet mandated PM emissions levels set by the European Union. (Reuters)

The law, 1999/30, passed in April 1999, established binding EU-wide limits on emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, lead and PM₁₀. The limits took effect 1 Jan of this year.

For PM, the 24-hour limit value is 50 µg/m3, not to be exceeded more than 35 times in a calendar year.

However, as of 9 February, seven major cities including Rome are already quickly approaching their annual limits. Torino (Turin) has already hit its limit, according to data gather by Euromobility, whose chart is at right.

The red element depicts the number of non-compliant days, the green the remaining days available.

A study published last month found that nearly 4,000 Italians died each year due to diseases linked to air pollution.