Shanghai Vice Mayor Shen Jun said yesterday that the city government was considering reducing the number of car plates issued through auction in an effort to limit the number of vehicles driving on local streets as a way to reduce vehicle exhaust.

Reducing the growth in private car plates will be one measure taken to reduce air pollution, especially PM2.5, airborne particulates harmful to human health. [File photo]

The local government issued 8,000 private car plates during this month's auction, with the minimum price rebounding to 52,800 yuan (US$8,362) per plate. The vice mayor said reducing the growth in private car plates will be one measure taken to reduce air pollution, especially PM2.5, airborne particulates harmful to human health.

Shanghai's air quality has been improving for the past five years despite the city's failure to meet a proposed air-quality standard, the top official of the city's environmental protection authority said yesterday.

The average amount of tiny particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter has decreased slightly since 2006, Zhang Quan, director of the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau, told Shanghai Daily.

"The improvement was small but indicated a good trend of the city's air quality," Zhang said.

The authority has promised that 90 percent of all days will have good to excellent air quality in the next three years.

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