Air quality gets better test

Shanghai, 24 other cities adopt new system for checking area pollution

Shanghai and all prefecture-level cities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces will today begin using a new air quality reporting system.

The Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau said the new system will provide more authentic readings of the city's air quality to the public.

As of Friday, the cities will upgrade from the Air Pollution Index to the Air Quality Index.

Fu Qingyan, chief engineer at the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center, explained the difference.

She said the Air Pollution Index only monitored sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and PM10 ― particulate matter 10 microns or less in diameter ― and calculated air quality indices for these pollutants.

"The new evaluation criteria takes the results of PM2.5 (particulate matter 2.5 microns or less in diameter), carbon monoxide and ozone into consideration in addition to figures for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and PM10," she said.

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