A watchtower of the Forbidden City is seen under the blue sky in Beijing on Jan 22, 2018. [Photo/VCG] BEIJING -- Chinese cities reported more days with good air quality in July, official data showed, as the government intensified efforts to crack down on polluters. Last month, 338 cities monitored by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) enjoyed good air quality on 87.7 percent of days, up by 5.1 percentage points from the same period last year. In the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding regions, the share of days with good air quality during the month stood at 55 percent, a year-on-year rise of 5 percentage points, according to the ministry. The density of PM2.5, the fine particulate matter that causes smog, in the area went down 18.4 percent to 40 micrograms per cubic meter during the month. The city of Haikou in Hainan Province continued to have the cleanest air out of the nation's major cities, while Tangshan in Hebei Province was among the worst polluted. After decades of rapid development that left the country with a thick, gray haze, China declared a war on pollution, with intensified efforts to crack down on polluters and incentives for clean energy use. To clear up its air, China has been encouraging the use of natural gas instead of coal for winter heating, subsidizing new energy vehicles to curb emissions, and shutting down ineffective factories that produce the most pollution. In the latest move, the MEE announced Thursday that it will implement a three-year action plan from this year to clamp down on environmental offenses including fabrication and interference of monitoring data. wristbands canadacustom silicone bracelets canadarubber bracelets canadasilicone bracelets canadasilicone wristbands canadacustom wristbands canadacanadian wristbandswristbands canada
BEIJING -- Beijing plans to phase out coal-fired heating in 450 villages in plain areas this year in its latest bid to tackle air pollution.Households in the 450 villages will switch from coal to gas or electricity for heating, according to Sun Wenkai, head of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Rural Affairs.By the end of 2018, coal use in all villages in the plain areas will be phased out, said Sun.Authorities also plan to help some mountain villages and those near the 2022 Winter Olympics venues switch to clean energy for heating, he said.Coal use in rural areas in the heating season is a major source of air pollution in the winter, said Sun.A total of 974,000 households in 2,237 villages in Beijing have shifted to clean energy, helping reduce coal consumption by about 2.9 million tons per heating season and cutting emissions of sulfur dioxide by 14,000 tons.Beijing plans to spend more than 19 billion yuan ($3 billion) to fight air pollution this year.The Chinese capital has intensified measures in recent years to improve its air quality and has achieved remarkable results.The average density of PM2.5 in Beijing was 58 micrograms per cubic meter last year, meeting the target set by the State Council, and 20.5 percent less than in 2016.
