Breathe more easily; city of Zhuhai upholds clean air

Over 177 days, 97.8 percent of Zhuhai's air quality in the first half of this year met with National Ambient Air Quality Standards, surpassed that of last year, it was reported by the municipal Environmental Protection Bureau on July 17.

The average air quality index (AQI) increased from 3.30 in the first half of 2016 to this year's 3.38, and the general air condition proved satisfactory over the past six months. The monitoring result of high-profile particulates shows that PM2.5 concentration was 28 micrograms per cubic meter, a year-on-year growth of 12 percent, while the PM10 concentration decreased by 2.4 percent to 40 micrograms per cubic meter.

Fair weather in Zhuhai [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Daily]

According to the Department of Environmental Protection of Guangdong Province, the top 10 cities for air quality are Shanwei, Zhanjiang, Maoming, Zhuhai, Heyuan, Huizhou, Yangjiang, Shenzhen, Meizhou, Shantou, and Chaozhou.

Zhuhai and Heyuan share fourth place in the top 10 cities, besting Shenzhen, Zhongshan, Gaungzhou, and Foshan. Meanwhile, Zhuhai tops nine cities in the Pearl River Delta.

It was not easy for Zhuhai to meet this air quality, especially upsetting the record set in 2014 to achieve single-month optimal level in June, while the general air condition of Guangdong was not satisfactory in the first quarter of this year, an official from the Department of Environmental Protection of Guangdong Province pointed out.