Beijing's key pollution reading hits lowest level since 2013

Vehicles run at the Central Business District (CBD) in Chaoyang District in Beijing, capital of China, June 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

BEIJING, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Beijing saw its primary air-pollution index reading for the January-November period hit the lowest level since records began in 2013, official data showed Tuesday.

The city's average concentration of PM2.5 in the first 11 months of 2022 was 31 micrograms per cubic meter, according to the Beijing Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau.

PM2.5 readings are a gauge monitoring airborne particles of 2.5 microns or below in diameter.

Local authorities in the city have taken a slew of measures to reduce the emissions of PM2.5 precursors, including nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds.

The measures include increasing the number of taxies, buses and sanitation trucks that run on new energy, while eliminating oil-fired boilers in downtown areas and household coal use in the suburbs.

Authorities have also strengthened pollution control coordination with neighboring provincial-level regions and beefed up the monitoring of key pollution sources.

Beijing made a breakthrough in its control of air pollution last year. The city's average concentration of PM2.5 was 33 micrograms per cubic meter in 2021, the lowest level since records began in 2013.