Chile’s largest city temporarily shut down due to smog 'emergency'

Measures relaxed on Monday night after cars were ordered off streets of Santiago, businesses shut and 7 million residents told to stay indoors

Authorities in Chile's capital shut down hundreds of businesses and ordered hundreds of thousands of cars off the streets on Monday as a grey carpet of smog caused an environmental emergency in the city hosting the Copa America soccer tournament.

The emergency was declared ended on Monday evening after air quality improved. But the Santiago government said it still would order about 300,000 vehicles off the streets on Tuesday, a little less than half the estimated 680,000 that had to be parked on Monday, especially older cars.