China breathes in more toxins than last year.
China’s Ministry of Environment Protection has warned that the country’s air quality during the past month has deteriorated slightly when compared to the same period in 2013. The air quality around the Yangtze River Delta is the most affected. The ministry sampled 74 of the major cities across China for the month of May 2014, the figures were officially released on June 18, 2014.
The number of days with good air quality – for 25 cities in the Yangtze River Delta Region – was just 18 out of the total 31, which was five days fewer than in May, 2013. The readings of the air quality accounted for six of the major pollutants, out of which only the readings of carbon monoxide remained unchanged compared to the numbers in May 2013.
An official from the ministry on the condition of anonymity said, “Stronger sunshine, warmer temperatures and burning straw within the region are the three major reasons for the area’s apparently deteriorated air quality”. The cities of Changzhou, Nanjing and Zhenjiang which are all in the Jiangsu province in the Yangtze River Delta region, were among the top cities with the worst air quality.
Meanwhile the nine cities from the Pearl River Delta region remained untouched by spiking air pollution concerns.
Photo credits: Greencom
