Milan local government bans traffic from city due to poor air quality

Daytime ban on all vehicles in place until Wednesday alongside other measures across Italy to reduce air pollution

The city of Milan was brought to a standstill on Monday after the local government barred all traffic within Italy's fashion and business capital because of persistent poor air quality.

The daily ban on all traffic from 10am to 4pm, which has been put in place until Wednesday, comes as a host of other measures are adopted across Italy to reduce air pollution, including in the town of San Vitaliano, near Naples, where the mayor has blocked the operation of wood-fired ovens that are normally used to make pizza.