Did the national PM2.5 concentration increase by 6.2% in the first half of the year? Ministry of Ecology and Environment Response Concentration | PM2.5 | Ecological Environment
In the first half of this year, the national air quality rebounded year-on-year, with PM2.5 concentration increasing by 6.2% and the ratio of excellent days decreasing by 3.2 percentage points. Today, at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office, a reporter mentioned this issue, and Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu responded to it.
Huang Runqiu stated that there were three main reasons for the rebound in air quality in the first half of the year. One reason is that the base was relatively low during the same period last year. In the past three years, due to factors such as the COVID-19, China's air pollutant emissions have declined significantly. In the first half of last year, the national PM2.5 concentration was 32 μ g/m3, the lowest in the same period of nearly eight years.
Secondly, the meteorological conditions have been extremely unfavorable since the beginning of this year. Due to the cyclical activity of the Asian winter monsoon, the number of sand and dust processes in the country has significantly increased, reaching 37 in the first half of the year. Among them, 15 were large-scale sand and dust processes, the highest in the same period in 15 years. The sand and dust process has caused a loss of 5.4 percentage points in the proportion of excellent days in the country, while the number of heavily polluted days has increased by 1.4 percentage points. Meanwhile, predictions indicate that China will experience an El Ni ñ o event of moderate intensity or above, and extreme high temperatures may become the "new normal" for the coming years.
Thirdly, emissions have increased. With the gradual recovery of economic activities after the epidemic, the production of high energy consuming and high emission industries such as metallurgy, building materials, and petrochemicals has increased year-on-year, leading to an increase in pollutant emissions. Nevertheless, compared to the same period in 2019 before the epidemic, China's PM2.5 concentration has still decreased by 15%, and the proportion of excellent days has increased by 1.3 percentage points. The overall trend of air quality is showing a significant improvement.
Huang Runqiu stated that in the next step, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will deeply implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the spirit of the National Ecological Environment Protection Conference, adhere to precise, scientific, and lawful pollution control, accelerate the issuance of the Action Plan for Continuous Improvement of Air Quality, and make efforts in three aspects: strict control of increment, reduction of emission stock, and continued increase of supervision and assistance. Persistently and persistently, we will continue to deepen the control of air pollution and safeguard the beautiful blue sky for the people.
