China is taking strict measures to upgrade the air quality of its ten most polluted cities, the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) said in Beijing Thursday.

Construction projects that will increase pollutant emission in the targeted cities will be strictly controlled by local governments, said an official with the SEPA.

Recently the SEPA issued a circular on further preventing air pollution, calling on the ten cities to adopt effective measures to improve air quality.

According to an annual report on city environmental management released by the SEPA in July, the ten most polluted cities in China are Linfen, Yangquan, Datong, Shizuishan, Sanmenxia, Jinchang, Shijiazhuang, Xianyang, Zhuzhou and Luoyang. Most of them are located in central and west China.

The blacklist of the ten cities has aroused the attention of the local governments, the official said, adding that they have taken active measures to reduce the air pollution.

The SEPA called on the ten cities to set standards for air quality and mark out steps to meet them; to strictly control projects that will increase air pollution; reduce particulate matter pollution; to actively adjust energy structure and popularize clean energy; and to improve management of pollution resources.