Beijingers experienced 55 "blue sky" days in the first three months this year, four days more than the same period last year, according to a report released Saturday by the municipal environment watchdog.

However, the Chinese capital's ambitious target of 245 "blue sky" days this year got off to a bad start. Statistics show that in the first two months, Beijing recorded only 35 "blue sky" days.

Beijing had some rainfall in early March, which helped lower floating sand and dust in the air, said Wang Xiaoming, an official with the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau.

The city had 241 "blue sky" days in 2006, exceeding the government's target by three days.

Beijing launched the "Defending the Blue Sky" program in 1998, when the city had only about 100 days of "blue sky" days. Since then, air quality has been improving for eight straight years thanks to the efforts of the government and the public.

(Xinhua News Agency April 1, 2007)