Focus on Arts and Ecology

On January 7, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment released their annual round up of air quality from China’s major urban areas. The figures were positive overall. Many media outlets reported an average of almost 80% “good quality” days in the 338 cities included. The concentration of PM2.5 averaged 39 micrograms per cubic metre – 9.3% less than in 2017. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area saw a slightly larger drop of 11.8%, despite many of the cities with the worst air quality still being concentrated in Hebei. Interestingly, the improvements were concentrated in the first half of 2018. The last quarter saw air in Beijing and surrounding areas deteriorate compared to the same period in 2017, as emissions restrictions on industry were loosened. The online news site Q Daily also noted that while PM2.5 may be decreasing across the country,ground level ozone is increasing and fast becoming “the new air pollution issue for China’s big cities”.