BEIJING: China today said Beijing and its neighbouring cities enjoyed better air quality in May after years of dreadful pollution, as the main pollutants, ozone and PM2.5 decreased year on year.
The figures released by the Ministry of Environmental Protection showed that PM2.5 in 13 cities monitored in the most polluted Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region decreased by 9.7 per cent compared with the same period last year.
The ozone index was down 1.1 per cent.
The transformation came as Beijing was enveloped in hazardous haze for a long time during the year and resorted to drastic measures to cut down industrial pollution specially generated by coal-fired plants.
Beijing reported sound air quality in 58.1 per cent of the days last month and only one day of heavy pollution, state-run news agency reported.
Five Hebei cities featured in a list of the 10 most polluted Chinese cities in the month.
"The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta region and the Pearl River Delta region all witnessed improved air quality in May compared with both the previous month and the same period last year," Luo Yi, a senior ministry official said.
The two delta regions refer to the economically-developed eastern and southern areas encompassing Shanghai and Guangzhou respectively.
China began to include an index of PM2.5, a key indicator of air pollution, and ozone in a new air quality standard at the beginning of 2013.
