(Yicai Global) Nov. 17 -- The proportion of the number of days with fairly good air quality in Beijing in October reached 80.6 percent, up by 25.8 percentage points annually, while the concentration of PM2.5 particles in the air fell 32.1 percent compared to the same month of last year, data released by the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) shows.

The average proportion of days with fairly good air quality from January to October is 58.3 percent, representing annual growth 0.6 percentage point, while the corresponding concentration of PM2.5 reached 60 micrograms per cubic meter, a decline of 6.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

Across the 13 cities in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, the proportion of the average number of days with fairly good air quality in October and for the first 10 months of the year, were 69.2 percent and 54.3 percent, respectively, with annual growth of 4.9 percentage points and decline of 7.3 percentage points. The corresponding concentrations of PM2.5 stood at 61 and 64 micrograms per cubic meter, with a decline of 10.3 percent and an increase of 8.5 percent, respectively.

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region has attracted attention in recent years due to its severe air pollution. Thus, the Chinese government has initiated a large number of policies including improving the quality of gasoline, reducing coal consumption, and limiting factory production during winter in the region.

The effect has not been very significant nationally, with the average proportion of the number of days with fairly good air quality across 338 cities at prefecture level or above at 87.8 percent, down 5.0 percentage points annually. The corresponding concentration of PM2.5 reached 38 micrograms per cubic meter, up 5.6 percent.

For the first ten months of the year, the corresponding proportion was 80.3 percent, with an annual decline of 2.5 percentage points, while the concentration of PM2.5 was 41 micrograms per cubic meter, stable compared to last year.