Concentrations of PM2.5 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region were down 21.1 percent in July, and in the capital, Beijing, down 31.9-percent year on year, according to the monthly air quality report of China's Environmental Protection Ministry, on Aug 17.
Ozone concentrations and PM2.5 were the main reason leading to the days that failed to meet national standards in the country's 74 major cities, according to Luo Yi, the director of the Ministry's environment monitoring department.
While the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region's PM2.5 is their major pollutant, with ozone in second place. Fortunately PM2.5 concentrations were down for the same last year period, and PM 10 concentrations down 16.9 percent.
As Beijing had only 35.5 percent of July's days meeting national standards, it ranked in 65th place out of the 74 major cities. Its major pollutant was ozone, then PM2.5.