The annual emission reduction task for the total volume of major pollutants was fulfilled in 2014, accoring to the "2014 China Environmental State Bulletin" released by the Ministry of Environmental Protection on June 4, 2015.

The bulletin shows that in 2014, ecological civilization construction and ecological environment reform made positive progress, with further progress in pollution prevention in air, water and soil.

Five of the national key cities met the air quality standard, with annual average PM2.5 density falling by 11.1 percent in 2014.

According to the bulletin, among the 161 cities of prefecture level or above that are under air quality surveillance, 16 cities, including Zhoushan, Fuzhou and Shenzhen, met the air quality standard; while 145 cities still exceeded the standard. 

Although there are still few cities that meet the air quality standard, the pace has quickened in improving air quality nationwide. The 2013 bulletin, which covered 74 cities, showed that only Haikou, Zhoushan and Lhasa could meet the standard, while in 2014, of the same 74 cities, 8 had reached the air quality standard. 

The article is edited and translated from《主要污染物总量减排年度任务顺利完成》, source: People's Daily, author:Sun Xiuyan.