SHENZHEN is among only nine of 161 Chinese cities that reached the new, stricter air quality monitoring standards in the first half of this year, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) yesterday.

    Shenzhen, Zhoushan, Zhuhai, Zhanjiang, Yunfu, Beihai, Sanya and Lhasa are the cities that reached the standards, the ministry said. This indicates that only 6 percent of the 161 cities have air quality regarded as safe under the new standards.

    The new standards were put into use at the beginning of the year and 161 cities across the country have adopted them.

    Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Zhanjiang and Yunfu are all in Guangdong.

    Shenzhen’s air quality was at “safe” or “excellent” levels on 171 out of 181 days in the first half of the year, according to the city’s environmental authority at the end of July. Of the five major pollutants monitored, only average ozone density rose slightly compared with the same period last year. The city’s density of PM2.5 —fine particles with 2.5 micrometers or less in size — averaged 33 mg per cubic meter in the first six months, lower than a year ago. The figure is the third-lowest among 74 major cities whose air qualities are tracked by the MEP.

    China in February 2012 issued new air quality monitoring standards, that include the monitoring of ozone, carbon monoxide and PM2.5, plus that of PM10, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.

    (SD-Xinhua)