Beijing enjoys best Spring Festival air quality since 2013

The 338 cities in China saw more than 72 percent of days with good air quality in February, around 10 percent higher year-on-year, while some eastern cities suffered severe air pollution and ranked in the top 10 for poor air quality, the environmental authority said on Thursday.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection released its monthly report on air quality saying Xuzhou and Suqian in East China's Jiangsu province were in the top 10 cities with the worst air pollution last month, the first time they had appeared.

The remaining eight cities with severe air pollution were Xingtai, Hengshui, Baoding and Handan in Hebei province, Jinan city in Shandong province, Zhengzhou in Henan province, Yinchuan in Ningxia Hui autonomous region and Urumqi in Xinjing Uygur autonomous region, which took last place, said Luo Yi, head of environmental monitoring department under the ministry.

Beijing, which has been frequently been hit by severe smog, saw a tremendous reduction last month in concentrations of PM2.5 – particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 microns that are hazardous to human health - with a year-on-year reduction of 53.2 percent.

During the Spring Festival holiday from Feb 7 till the Lantern Festival, on Feb 22, the capital saw the best air quality in the same holiday period since 2013, the municipal environmental protection bureau said.

Luo said air quality in February nationwide was improved with the percentage of days with good quality increased by 9.9 percent and the percentage of days with hazardous pollution reduced by 1.3 percent.