The city of Beijing aims to decrease concentrations of major pollutants by 2 percent this year, UPI quoted an official as saying. Measures announced Tuesday by Beijing acting Mayor Wang Anshun in a report include getting rid of at least 180,000 older cars and trucks in the city, encouraging the use of less-polluting vehicles and shutting about 450 factories. Wang said the government would "build a city with blue sky, green land and clean water" and "considerably cut PM2.5 in the air" referring to the measurement of air pollution particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, which pose health risks. The World Health Organization recommends that PM2.5 levels be kept below 25 micrograms per cubic meter. Earlier this month, Beijing air quality levels reached nearly 900 micrograms. Ma Jun, director of Beijing's Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, said it would be hard for the capital to clean its air. The proposed 2 percent reduction of concentrations of major pollutants "will not give Beijing a blue sky," Ma told the South China Morning Post. "But it certainly shows the authorities' determination to adopt a more transparent approach to solving the pollution problem." In his report, Wang also said that the density of major pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, has dropped an average of 29 percent over the past five years.
