Beijing air pollution control efforts win United Nations recognition

Beijing's air pollution control efforts have won recognition at the fourth United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi earlier this month.

Air monitoring equipment at the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center. [Photo: China Plus]

Beijing has made remarkable achievements in improving its air quality and no other city in the world has achieved the same results in such a short time, said Dechen Tsering, the head of the United Nations Environment Program Asia-Pacific Office.

In 2018, the PM 2.5 concentration in Beijing was down 43.7 percent compared to 2013, thanks to a decline in coal consumption, new emission standards for coal-fired power plants, and industrial upgrades.

A technician working on air monitoring equipment at the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center. [Photo: China Plus]

Over the past several years, Beijing's government has enhanced its air pollution monitoring. It has also launched a pollution alarm system that allows it to take action to prevent heavy pollution days.