China's Urumqi sees improving air quality in 2021

Tourists ski at a resort in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 10, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

URUMQI, March 3 (Xinhua) -- The department of ecology and environment of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region said the number of days with good air quality in the regional capital of Urumqi stood at 295 in 2021, accounting for over 80 percent of the year for the first time.

Dai Wujun, deputy head of the department, said this year Xinjiang will intensify efforts to protect its blue sky, making solid progress in eliminating heavy pollution days and controlling ozone pollution and diesel truck pollution.

In 2020, Urumqi reported good air quality on 76.2 percent of the days.