Qingdao City is scheduled to start monitoring fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in 2013 and release the gauge data to the public, said He Xu, director of the municipal environment protection promotion and education center.

The city has landed funds for the PM2.5 gauge and is purchasing relevant devices through open tender. A trial monitoring is expected to start after debugging devices and training staff in the second half of this year.

PM2.5 refers to super-small pollutants that measure 2.5 microns or less in the air. Compared to bigger particulates in the air, PM2.5 is more harmful to human health as it tends to penetrate into the gas exchange regions of the lungs.

He said Qingdao will set up 8 air-monitoring stations to get first-hand data and provide most effective materials for environment control of the city.