Beijing's notoriously poor air quality improving: officials

BEIJING: China today claimed the notorious air quality of Beijing, containing the most hazardous levels of pollution is improving even though the capital city was choked with a worst smog last week.

The average concentration of fine particulates smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter, the tiny particles in the air that are particularly hazardous to health was recorded at 91.6 micrograms per cubic metre in the first half of this year down more than 11 per cent on levels during the same period last year, state-run Beijing News reported.

News of the improved air quality comes only a month after the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Environmental Protection said the public complaints about Beijing's smog has doubled to 12,599 in the first five months of the year, compared to same period last year.

Premier Li Keqiang in a bid to calm the growing public discontent said in March that the capital was on the front line of a "war against pollution".

Public complaints about Beijing's smog doubled to 12,599 in the first five months of the year compared to last year.

Authorities have been trying to highlight the measures being taken to reduce the pollution, but many residents are still to be convinced that they are having much effect, Hong Kong based South China Morning Post reported.

The government said PM2.5 pollution was the worst air pollutant in the city, but levels had fluctuated significantly during the six months because of the change of seasons.

Officials said that the average PM2.5 levels in May and June fell to the lowest on record at about 60 micrograms per cubic metre.

"Other forms of air pollutants, such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, also reduced. The massive efforts carried out by Beijing and surrounding areas to reduce levels of air pollutants had also contributed to the decline," they said.

Beijing's PM2.5 pollution level was also found to be lower than the levels in all 13 neighbouring cities, including Tianjin and Shijiazhuang, the report said.

The latest government report also found the surrounding cities contributed to between 28 per cent and 36 per cent of the fine-particle pollution that has been affecting Beijing.