Pingtan sees excellent air quality in first nine months

Pingtan ranks first in Fujian province in terms of air quality index (AQI) in the first nine months of this year. [Photo from Wechat account pttimes]

Pingtan ranked first in Fujian province in terms of air quality index (AQI) in the first nine months of this year, according to statistics released by the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone bureau of environment, land and resources.

With an AQI of 2.28 in the first nine months, 97.1 percent of the days in Pingtan during the period met the official air quality standard, which was 2.2 percent more than the other nine cities in the province.

The levels of five main air pollutants were the lowest in Fujian, namely PM 10 (particulate matter), PM2.5 (fine particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO).

The main air pollutant in Pingtan is ozone. High level of ozone may lead to respiratory diseases and cause irritation to eyes and skin.

"The area has put great efforts in the control of ozone, such as weeding out 840 heavy-polluting vehicles and shutting down 164 livestock and poultry breeding farms," said Chen Qianhuo, the person in charge of the environment monitoring station in Pingtan.

Chen added that contracts were also signed with other cities including Fuzhou, Putian and Nanping to carry out regional cooperation in ozone prevention and control.