Readings of PM (particular matter) 2.5 in the city of Lanzhou, one of China’s most polluted, will be available for public scrutiny in December, according to officials.
The capital city of Gansu Province will conduct the PM2.5 monitor according to new environmental air quality standards on Dec. 1.
Lanzhou is among the first batch of 74 Chinese cities required by the Ministry of Environmental Protection to publish daily reports on PM2.5 by the end of the year.
The PM2.5 index is considered stricter than the PM10 standard previously adopted in China. It measures airborne particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers, which are more hazardous to people’s heath.
The data will be updated on government websites and via television and radio before the end of the year, the head of Lanzhou Environmental Protection Bureau, Pan En, told Xinhua.
The move was hailed by local residents who have complained of air pollution in the northwestern city.
“What matters is not the reading itself, but that its publication can at least put pressure on officials to do something to alleviate the pollution,” said Pan Jiang, a local citizen.
The 74 cities include China’s four municipalities, 27 provincial capitals, as well as cities in three highly urbanized and industrialized regions — Yangtze River Delta in the east, Pearl River Delta in the south and the northern Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area.
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