Air pollution in Israel's main cities dropped by at least 90 percent as the country marked the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, when few cars are on the roads, Israel’s environmental protection agency said Thursday.
Israel shut down for the holiday, which began on Tuesday night and ended at sunset on Wednesday, with shops, airports and even radio and television stations all closed.
Driving is frowned upon and families and children walk and bicycle through the empty streets.
In Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and their surrounding areas, nitrogen oxide pollution declined drastically to between seven and 17 parts per billion by air volume, the agency said in a statement.
Before the holiday, levels were 178 parts per billion in Jerusalem and 95 parts per billion in the Tel Aviv area.
"The significant improvement in air quality during Yom Kippur shows the impact of transportation as a main source of air pollution in large cities,"the agency said.
Israel's rail network remains underdeveloped and it is among the OECD countries with the highest number of vehicles per resident.