Beijing has poorest air quality out of 47 cities

Beijing has been found to have the poorest air quality out of 47 cities in China, according to a recent report.

The China National Environmental Monitoring Center revealed that the capital city had poor air quality, while the other cities covered by the organisation rated as excellent, fairly good or slightly polluted.

Some areas of the city, including the Daxing district and Liangxiang were said to be hazardous on Sunday (October 10th 2010).

It is thought that smog was contributing to lowering the air quality, with senior bureau official Wang Xiaoming telling China Radio International that fog had been building in Beijing all last week.

He said: "The air quality then started to drop sharply after pollutants filtered into the fog. The city's air quality has been below the national standard (fairly good) for four days since October 7th."

Earlier this week, officials from the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau confirmed details of a five-year plan to improve the city's air quality despite it meeting acceptable standards, the Shanghai Daily reported.

Posted by Claire Manning