Air pollution in major Chinese cities worsening

China today acknowledged that Beijing and its surrounding areas suffered from heavy air pollution last month, with dangerous airborne particles two times higher than normal levels in its largest cities.
The average concentration of PM2.5 particulates, dangerous airborne particles measuring less than 2.5 microns in diameter, in 74 cities monitored by China's Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) was 76 micrograms per cubic meter in the first six months, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The PM2.5 standard recommended for cities is 35 micrograms per cubic meter. In Beijing and its surrounding areas, the average reading was 115 micrograms of per cubic meter in June.

Poor air quality was experienced for more than one-fifth of the days in the month of June in Beijing, as well as neighbouring Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province, the ministry said.
However, Beijing was not among the 10 most polluted cities, which included Xi'an, Jinan, Zhengzhou, Tangshan and Shijiazhuang.
Seven of the 10 cities with the worst air pollution were in the northern province of Hebei. Hebei is China's biggest steel producing region. Air quality in the provincial capital of Shijiazhuang failed to meet government standards on 90 per cent of days in the first half, it said. The PM2.5 standard for cities is 35 micrograms, the report said.

In Guangdong province's Pearl River Delta, which neighbours Hong Kong, had good air quality for nearly 90 per cent of the days in June. Shanghai met standards on 65.2 per cent of days and had no days rated as heavily polluted, the ministry said.
Chinese official media said last week that the government has approved a USD 277 billion plan to control and reduce air pollution by 2017, setting stricter limits on the levels of PM2.5 particles.
An MEP official said coal-burning, automobile emissions, construction projects and industry as the major causes of the heavy pollution.