HAIKOU /China/, April 8. /TASS/. The proportion of days with "excellent" air quality in the southern Chinese province of Hainan between January and March this year was 99.9%, the Hainan International Communication Network (HICN) reported.
Since the beginning of this year, efforts to prevent air pollution in Hainan have achieved good results, the report said. From January to March, the proportion of days with high air quality reached 99.9%. In this case the average concentration of fine particulate matter PM 2.5 ("PM 2.5"), the main source of smog, during this period was 13 micrograms per cubic meter (the maximum acceptable standard of WHO is 25 micrograms per cubic meter).
The article stressed that Hainan has made steady progress in improving air quality in recent years. Between 2018 and 2021, the province's average annual PM 2.5 concentration dropped from 17 to 13 micrograms per cubic meter. The decrease may seem insignificant but changing the figure by even one unit requires a tremendous amount of work, according to the report.
The main sources of PM 2.5 in Hainan are exhaust from cars and other vehicles, factories, dust, emissions from trash burning, fireworks and firecrackers, and other household sources, according to the article. At the same time, cars and other vehicles account for about 30% of the total PM 2.5.
In order to protect the environment and reduce harmful emissions, Hainan authorities intend to completely stop selling cars with gasoline and diesel engines by 2030. To this end, the government is encouraging the public to buy alternative energy cars and developing the necessary infrastructure for them. As the Hainan Daily newspaper reported earlier, this year the authorities are planning to build up to 20 thousand additional charging stations. The province also has a policy of subsidizing the purchase of such vehicles by individuals.