French authorities will on Monday prevent one in every two cars from taking to Paris’ streets to fight an intense smog choking the capital and northern France.

City mayor Anne Hidalgo will also make all public transport temporarily free in a bid to drive down pollution.

“I am delighted the state has agreed to put in place a partial driving ban on Monday, which I have been requesting for several days,” Ms Hidalgo said on Twitter.

Only vehicles with number plates ending in an odd number will be allowed to drive, though exceptions will be made for taxis, electric cars, ambulances and similar vehicles.

Public transportation is to be free until at least Monday in Paris and its surrounding towns in an effort to force pollution down by coaxing drivers to give up their cars for a few days.

Similar emergency measures were last implemented almost exactly a year ago – on March 17 – during a particularly bad spike in the pollution levels.

Smog is a big problem in India too. Photo: ABC

On Saturday, air quality monitors predicted that concentrations of potentially dangerous particulates in the air could again go over the recommended maximum.

In Paris, authorities measure the concentration of particulates with a diameter of less than 10 microns – called PM10 – in the air to determine pollution levels.

These particulates are created by vehicles, heating and heavy industry, and include the most dangerous particles that measure less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which can penetrate deep into the lungs and the blood system and can cause cancer.

The safe limit for PM10 is set at 80 micrograms per cubic metre.

According to a 2011 World Health Organisation report, the planet’s most polluted city was Ahvaz in Iran with an average of 372 micrograms per cubic metre.

Beijing had an average of 121 micrograms per cubic metre, while Paris was measured at 38.