China reports across-the-board improvements in eco-environment

Photo taken on April 23, 2020 shows the scenery at Yanqi Lake in Huairou District of Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Chen Zhonghao)

BEIJING, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- China has seen across-the-board improvements in its eco-environment over the past few years amid the country's intensifying efforts to spur green development.

Last year, the percentage of days with good air quality was 87 percent in 337 cities at and above the prefecture level, up by 5.8 percentage points from the 2015 level, said Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu.

In the capital city of Beijing, where air pollution had been a major public concern, the average concentration of hazardous airborne particles PM2.5 was 38 micrograms per cubic meter in 2020, down by 52.9 percent from 2015, Huang said at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office.

Water quality also saw substantial improvements, with the proportion of surface water with fairly good quality rising from 66 percent in 2015 to 83.4 percent in 2020.

In the same period, the proportion of surface water below Grade V, the lowest level, stood at 0.6 percent, down from 9.7 percent in 2015.

In 2020, China's carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP fell by 18.8 percent from the 2015 level.

China has announced that it would strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.