India will ban trucks and buses more than 15 years old to curb record pollution levels, the government says.
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Sometimes we have good news too!
Commercial trucks account for more than half of vehicle emissions in India
India's capital, Delhi, is experiencing hazardous levels of pollution due to diesel emissions, construction dirt and the burning of crop stubble in farms around the city.
Air pollution causes more than 600,000 premature deaths in India each year.
India has 13 of the world's 20 most polluted cities, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported last year.
The ban will come into effect in April and will be announced in more detail in the next two weeks.
It will include commercial trucks, which account for more than half of India's vehicle emissions.
"It [air pollution] will get worse every year unless we do something," road transport and highways secretary Vijay Chhibber told Reuters.
However, other measures will have to be implemented if India wants to significantly change emissions, experts say.
"Taxes on cars and parking charges should be raised to curtail usage, and public transport should be expanded," said Vivek Chattopadhyay, a pollution expert at the Centre for Science and Environment in Delhi.
New car sales are soaring in India, with 1,400 extra cars taking to the capital's streets every day.
Last week India said it would require vehicles to abide by stricter emissions standards by 2019, three years ahead of the previous deadline.
From BBC News
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