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The environment bureau in Hebei province, China’s steelmaking heartland, says PM2.5 levels in May were below 35 micrograms for the first time since China began measuring the pollutants in 2013. Photo: Reuters

Chinese smog hotspot Hebei breathes a little easier after hitting air quality standard for first time

  • PM2.5 in steel heartland below 35 micrograms for first time since China started measuring pollutant in 2013
  • In May, Hebei’s air pollution index was down 6.6 per cent year on year

Smog-prone Hebei, China’s biggest steel producing region, met a national air quality standard for the first time in May, the province’s environment bureau said on Tuesday.

Hebei surrounds Beijing and has been on the front line of a war on pollution since 2014, after toxic smog spread to the Chinese capital.

Provincial authorities converted thousands of households to natural gas from coal, curbed pollution from vehicles and imposed ultra-low emissions standards on its many steel mills, cement factories and power plants.

In May, Hebei’s average concentration of lung-damaging small particles, known as PM2.5, stood at 33 micrograms per cubic metre, the Hebei Ecology and Environment Bureau said.

Blue skies over Hebei as province reports a reduction in air pollutants in May. Photo: Weibo

It was the first time that Hebei’s monthly average fell below the interim standard of 35 micrograms since China began measuring PM2.5 in 2013, the bureau said.

The World Health Organisation recommended average PM2.5 rates of no more than 10 micrograms.

Hebei’s overall air pollution index fell 6.6 per cent in May compared to the same month last year.

While the province has had success in reducing PM2.5 rates and other air pollutants, concentrations of ground-level ozone – known as “sunburn for the lungs” – have continued to rise.

Ozone levels reached 196 micrograms per cubic metre in May, up 5.9 per cent from the same month a year earlier, the bureau said.

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Ozone is caused when sunlight interacts with organic compounds found in car exhaust fumes.

Air pollution in China generally eases in May as weather improves and coal consumption falls.

From January to April, PM2.5 rates in Hebei rose year on year, raising fears that the war on pollution had stalled amid concerns about China’s slowing economy.

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