China plans to punish officials in regions that miss air quality targets

China will order detailed punishment measures for officials in regions that miss air quality targets this winter, refusing to accept unfavourable weather or mounting economic pressure as excuses, an environment ministry official said on Monday.

China is in the fifth year of a war on pollution to reverse the environmental damage of four decades of breakneck economic growth and last year cut concentrations of hazardous particles known as PM2.5 by an average of 9.3 percent in 338 cities.

But in the key northern control area of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the concentration of such particles rose to an average of 73 micrograms per cubic metre