More Chinese cities to have real-time air quality readings

A man wearing mask at Tian'anmen square in Beijing in this undated file photo. [Photo/CFP]

BEIJING -- Real-time air quality readings will be available in more Chinese cities from January 1, 2015, the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) announced on Tuesday.

Air quality will be monitored in 1,436 stations across 338 cities, and real-time readings of density for six pollutants — PM 10, PM 2.5, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and carbon monoxide — as well as the air quality index (AQI), will be reported to the public, according to the MEP.

China began monitoring air quality in 74 major cities at the beginning of 2013, and later expanded the coverage to 177 cities with 552 surveillance stations in 2014.

Also on Tuesday, the MEP announced that it had completed an environmental impact assessment of development strategies mapped out for the central region.

Wu Xiaoqing, vice minister of the MEP, said the region covering Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei; the Yangtze River Delta; and the Pearl River Delta would be next.