More Chinese cities see clean air in 2016

BEIJING - More Chinese cities saw better air quality last year thanks to the central government's measures to control air pollution. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, however, remained the place hit hardest by smog.

Of all 338 cities, the air quality in 84 cities reach national standards, up from 73 in 2015, Wu Jiyou, an official with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said Friday at a press conference.

The proportion of days with good or relatively good air quality in a year rose to 78.8 percent, up 2.1 percentage points from a year ago. The PM 2.5 density dropped 6 percent to 47 micrograms per cubic meter, and the PM 10 density fell 5.7 percent to 82 micrograms.

Haikou, Zhoushan and Huizhou became the top three cities in terms of air quality, while Hengshui, Shijiazhuang and Baoding ranked at the bottom.

Despite the improvements, the north still suffered from serious air pollution in winter, especially Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, according to Wu.

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region's clear days stood at merely 56.8 percent, but 9.2 percent of days were "heavily polluted," much higher than the country's average of 2.6 percent.

The government has promised to do more to reduce hazy days, including promoting the use of clean fuel, curbing industrial gas emissions, and toughening supervision.

Friday's meeting was the first this year for the ministry, which will hold press conferences on a regular basis.