BEIJING: Beijing’s average concentration of PM2.5 has declined to 29 micrograms per cubic meter so far this year as the capital has been making great efforts in fighting air pollution and improving the natural environment in the past few decades, Zhao Lei, member of the Standing Committee and secretary general of Beijing Municipal Committee, said at a media conference on Tuesday afternoon.
The conference was held during the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
“The city’s PM2.5 reached as low as 1 microgram per cubic meter on Sunday when the congress was opened, which was the best level ever during the same period since the data was collected,” he said.
“We have the confidence and the determination to keep a clear sky in Beijing.”
Beijing’s air quality has attracted huge attention in past years. The annual average concentration of major airborne fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, declined to 33 micrograms per cubic meter in 2021, falling by 63.1 percent compared with the level in 2013. During that time, the city’s forest coverage rate increased from 38.6 percent to 44.6 percent.
In the report delivered to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on Sunday, many major events such as 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Integrated Development have been mentioned, Zhao said.
–The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
