Air quality externally affected; Zhuhai remains in top 10

Zhuhai ranked fourth among 74 Chinese cities monitored for air quality in the first 10 months of this year, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

The other nine cities registered with the best air quality during the past 10 months are Haikou, Lhasa, Zhoushan, Lishui, Shenzhen, Huizhou, Xiamen, Guiyang, and Fuzhou.

Monitored jurisdictions include the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, Yangtze and Pearl River deltas, municipalities directly under the central government, capital cities, and other places specifically designated in state plans.

The city Environmental Protection Bureau stated that the ratio of days up to national standards in Zhuhai was 91.4 percent from January to October, down 3.4 percent from the same period last year. The average concentration of PM2.5 increased by 8.3 percent to 26 mcg per cubic meter, while that of PM10 decreased by 7.7 percent to 36 mcg per cubic meter.

Affected by smog from the north, air quality in Zhuhai declines slightly during autumn and winter. Frequent incidences of unfavorable weather conditions such as temperature inversion also jeopardized the air by trapping pollution close to the ground and preventing the dispersion of pollutants.

Zhoushan, Lhasa, Guiyang, Fuzhou, Nantong, Xiamen, Haikou, Kunming, Taizhou, and Ningbo made it to reach the top 10 in October alone.

Zhuhai's Fisher Maiden under a blue sky [File Photo]