Settling In 95old, highly-polluting buses have
been replaced, there has been
a noticeable improvement in
Santiago’s air.
One pollution fighting
measure has been Restricción,
a government imposed system which restricts the use of
vehicles. It covers all vehicles without catalytic converters
and is in effect Monday through Friday with the exception
of public holidays. Each day of the week is assigned two
numbers. Any personal vehicle whose license plate ends
with either of the two numbers is not allowed to drive
within the Santiago metropolitan region from 7:30 am
until 9:00 pm. When particles in the air surpass the 100
microgrammes per cubic metre level, the government calls
an Alert. At this time, four numbers are restricted from
driving on that day. When levels surpass the 300 level, the
government declares a Pre-emergency. On these days, six
numbers are listed and cars without catalytic converters
whose license plates end in those numbers are barred from
driving. In addition, two numbers are listed for cars with
Although not scientifically proven,
there is a saying in Chile that goes:
‘A ring around the moon, nothing
will occur. A ring around the sun,
a tempest or earthquake will
certainly come.’