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Ongoing High Pollution Alert in the Chamonix Valley
Euro class 3 vehicles now on restricted access & Euros class 1 & 0 vehicles banned
On Saturday pollution levels hit another high in the Arve valley, with 90 micron grams per cubic metre of airborne particles, and the alert remains on high through to today.
The Arve Valley has been known to be a bottle neck for air pollutants, which from time to time build up to dangerous levels. For more than 15 years pollution levels have been monitored as local residents fight to get their voices heard by the French government and health organisations.
The Haute-Savoie prefecture advised this week that vulnerable people should stay indoors, avoid intense physical activity, and they reduced motorway and main road speed limits, as well as encouraging people to use public transport wherever possible.
Read more about why the Valley is so polluted and what the plans are to help rectify it in this blog from Mountain Spirit Guides.
Air Rhone Alps produce a regular bulletin which you can check in on here for the current conditions.
*update* Overnight 6th January the Haute Savoie prefecture have now restricted the most polluting kind of lorries from the Arve valley - Euro class 3 vehicles of over 7.5 tonnes. Although this is apparently only applied to International vehicles and local vehicles of this type will still be allowed. Euro call 1 and class 0 vehicles will be totally banned from the valley.
