Ministry of Environmental Protection： From January to August, the national PM2.5 concentration decreased by 2.3% year-on-year.

　　BEIJING, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) According to the official Weibo news of the Propaganda and Education Department of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Environmental Protection released the air quality status of the whole country and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions, municipalities directly under the central government, provincial capitals and cities with separate plans to the media today. From January to August, the concentration of PM2.5 in 338 cities at prefecture level and above was 42 μ g/m3, down 2.3% year-on-year; The concentration of PM10 was 74 μ g/m3, down 1.3% year-on-year.

　　Liu Zhiquan, director of the Environmental Monitoring Department of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said that in August, the average number of excellent days in 338 cities at prefecture level and above was 89.3%, down 0.9 percentage points year-on-year. The concentration of PM2.5 was 24 μ g/m3, down 14.3% year-on-year; The concentration of PM10 was 47 μ g/m3, a year-on-year decrease of 9.6%. From January to August, the average number of excellent days was 78.3%, down 2.8 percentage points year-on-year. The concentration of PM2.5 was 42 μ g/m3, down 2.3% year-on-year; The concentration of PM10 was 74 μ g/m3, down 1.3% year-on-year.

　　In August, the last 10 cities with relatively poor air quality in 74 cities (from 74th to 65th) were: Handan, Xingtai, Taiyuan, Tangshan, Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, Xi ‘an, Jinan, Baoding and Hengshui. From January to August, the last 10 cities are: Handan, Shijiazhuang, Xingtai, Baoding, Tangshan, Taiyuan, Zhengzhou, Hengshui, Xi ‘an and Jinan.

　　In August, the top 10 cities with relatively good air quality in 74 cities (from 1st to 10th) were Haikou, Lhasa, Zhuhai, Lishui, Dalian, Xiamen, Guiyang, Xining, Harbin and Zhongshan. From January to August, the top 10 cities were Haikou, Lhasa, Zhuhai, Zhoushan, Lishui, Shenzhen, Huizhou, Xiamen, Guiyang and Fuzhou.

　　The average number of excellent days in August in 13 cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region was 67.5%, down 16.1 percentage points year-on-year. The concentration of PM2.5 was 39 μ g/m3, up 5.4% year-on-year; The concentration of PM10 was 69 μ g/m3, up 9.5% year-on-year. From January to August, the average number of excellent days was 52.8%, down 8.0 percentage points year-on-year. The concentration of PM2.5 was 65 μ g/m3, up 10.2% year on year. The concentration of PM10 was 115 μ g/m3, up 10.6% year-on-year.

　　The proportion of excellent days in August in Beijing was 74.2%, up 19.4 percentage points year-on-year, and the concentration of PM2.5 was 38 μ g/m3, down 19.1% year-on-year. The concentration of PM10 was 56 μ g/m3, up 3.7% year-on-year. From January to August, the average number of excellent days was 56.0%, down 1.0 percentage points year-on-year. The concentration of PM2.5 was 60 μ g/m3, down 4.8% year-on-year; The concentration of PM10 was 88 μ g/m3, up 12.8% year-on-year.

　　The average number of excellent days in August in 25 cities in the Yangtze River Delta region was 83.1%, up 6.3 percentage points year-on-year. The concentration of PM2.5 was 26 μ g/m3, up 8.3% year-on-year; The concentration of PM10 was 46 μ g/m3, up 7.0% year-on-year. From January to August, the average number of excellent days was 72.9%, down 1.5 percentage points year-on-year. The concentration of PM2.5 was 43 μ g/m3, down 6.5% year-on-year; The concentration of PM10 was 70 μ g/m3, a year-on-year decrease of 7.9%.

　　The average number of excellent days in August in nine cities in the Pearl River Delta region was 88.4%, up 11.7 percentage points year-on-year. The concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 are 20 μ g/m3 and 34 μ g/m3, respectively, both reaching the national secondary annual average concentration standard. From January to August, the average number of excellent days was 88.3%, down 2.9 percentage points year-on-year. The concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 are 31 μ g/m3 and 48 μ g/m3, respectively, both reaching the national second-class annual average concentration standard.