Beijing reports air-quality record in May

Beijing has reported the lowest monthly reading for PM2.5 since records began in 2013.

Due to favorable meteorological conditions, the city’s average concentration of PM2.5 in May stood at 20 micrograms per cubic meter, which was also the best level in 28 cities in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei as well as their neighboring regions, the Beijing municipal ecology and environment bureau said on Thursday.

Last month, Beijing also reported record low levels of other major pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide, PM10 and nitrogen dioxide.

During the January-May period, the average PM2.5 reading in the Chinese capital stood at 46 micrograms per cubic meter, the bureau said.

PM2.5, which refers to airborne particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, poses serious health risks.

The city has taken a series of measures to further improve the air quality, including promoting new-energy vehicles, dust control at construction sites and pollutant-emission reductions to tackle ozone pollution during the summer months