Beijing manages to reduce over 17% pollution in 2019

BEIJING: The capital city of China, after running anti-pollution campaign for five years has abled to cut smog levels in its metropolitan area by more than 17 per cent in 2019, data from Beijing’s  environmental authority showed on January 3, 2020.

Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau of Beijing said, the average concentration of PM 2.5 were at 42 micrograms per cubic meter.

Pollution levels slipped down 17.65 per cent from an average 51 micrograms per cubic metre in 2018, but still above China’s official air quality standards of 35 micrograms per cubic metre and more than four times higher than the annual PM2.5 concentration guidelines of 10 micrograms per cubic metre by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The Environment Bureau of Beijing said that the city has an average PM 2.5 concentrations of 33.3 per cent higher in autumn season, which is higher than other seasons and winters are still relatively severe.

Since, 2014 Beijing has been on frontlines on war with growing pollution of China and the city has worked to relocate many polluting industries even shutting them down, reduce the consumption of coal in and around the city, and improve the fuel and emission standards.

According to the bureau, the city has managed to drop the PM 2.5 concentration to 53 per cent in 2019 compared with 2013.