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It's Not All Bad News When It Comes to Beijing's Terrible Air

Air quality in Beijing improved last year, despite the government's first ever "red alert" warning in December, according to official media.
Photo by Rolexa Dela Pena/EPA

It isn't all bad news when it comes to Beijing's notoriously heavy — and deadly — smog. Take a look through the haze and there's a glimmer of sunshine.

Average concentrations of PM 2.5 — particulates that measure 2.5 microns in diameter and can penetrate deep into lungs — were 80.6 micrograms per meter in China's capital in 2015, which represents a 6.2 percent drop from the previous year, according to the city's environmental bureau, Reuters reported.

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That's still 10 times higher than levels deemed safe by the World Health Organization.

Sulfur dioxide concentrations also fell, dropping 38 percent, the bureau said. The number of heavy smog days declined by one to 46 days.

Beijing issued its first ever "red alert" warning in December, which restricted the number of cars on the road, advised schools to cancel classes, and required a halt to outdoor construction.

Related: Here Are the Ways People Cope With China's Dirty Air

In order to address growing domestic concerns about air pollution and to contribute to international efforts at addressing climate change, Chinese officials have launched several initiatives, including a pledge to peek its national greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and boost the amount of renewable energy it produces. And, last week, China announced that it will suspend the approval of new coal mines, cutting the share of coal in the country's overall energy production from 64.4 percent to 62.6 percent in 2016, according Bloomberg, which cited official media accounts.

China's official media also reported this weekend that Beijing officials would expand efforts at clamping down on dangerous industrial activities, which could help with air quality.

Last year, city investigations led to the suspension of 7,778 firms and shuttered 906 more due to violations of fire safety, construction, dangerous chemicals, and other industrial regulations, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Beijing Administration of Work Safety.

Ma Tianjie, a Beijing-based editor at China Dialogue, wrote in a year-end review of the country's environmental situation that people in China have been talking about a potential turning point in the nation's environmental picture.

"With air pollution in China showing signs of mild improvement and a carbon peak almost in sight," he said, "there are reasons to believe that Chinese society might be at a tipping point of fundamental environmental transformation."

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