Beijing's PM2.5 average drops to lowest in September
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail China.org.cn, October 19, 2018
The Beijing Municipal Environment Protection Bureau on Oct. 18 announced that the monthly average PM2.5 level in September was 30 micrograms per cubic meter, down 48.3 percent from the same period last year, and marked the lowest level since the city began monitoring its air condition.
The authority also said that in September, the average concentration of SO2, NO2 and PM10 are 3, 37 and 49 micrograms per cubic meter, dropping respectively by 25, 24.5 and 51 percent compared with the year earlier. Throughout the month, 27 out of 30 days, or 90 percent of the days, saw the air condition as "benign" and not a single day was marked as "heavily polluted."
Data shows that from January to September, the average concentration of PM2.5 was 50 micrograms per cubic meter in the Chinese capital, dropping 16.7 percent year-on-year. And for SO2, NO2 and PM10, the average concentrations were 6, 38 and 77 micrograms per cubic meter, dropping respectively 33.3, 15.6 and 14.4 percent year-on-year. Within the first nine months of 2018, 160 days were marked as "benign," an increase of nine days from last year, while only eight days were marked as "heavily polluted," 10 days less than the same period in 2017.
Beijing launched its "Clean Air Action Plan 2013-2017" in 2013 and has since established a citywide network monitoring PM2.5 level. The average concentration of PM2.5 has steadily dropped in the past five years — in 2017, the number was 58 micrograms per cubic meter — fulfilling the target set out in the "Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution," a major action plan issued by the State Council targeting air pollution.
A person in charge at the Beijing Municipal Environment Protection Bureau said that the air condition of Beijing has significantly improved thanks to sustained progress made in air pollution control.
The city also launched the "Blue Sky Protection Campaign" this year in order to establish a more solid foundation for the continuous improvement of air quality. The official added that in the future Beijing will continue to tackle pollution caused by heavy diesel vehicles, dust, and volatile organic compounds, strengthen urban management, and deepen air pollution prevention and control in the autumn and winter.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)