Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air

We are an independent research organisation focused on revealing the trends, causes, and health impacts, as well as the solutions to air pollution.

China winter air pollution targets: progress tracker

These real-time progress trackers use data from China’s official air quality monitoring stations to show which priority regions are on track to meet their air quality targets for the autumn-winter action plan period from October 2020 to March 2021. The targets are set separately for the fourth and the first quarter. Read more about the targets and policies in our briefing.

2+26 refers to Beijing, Tianjin, and 26 other cities in the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Henan and Shanxi. Fenwei plain is the 10-city region around Xi’an in Sha’anxi, Shanxi and Henan; YRD refers to Yangtze Delta around Shanghai and including cities in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui; and PRD is the Pearl River Delta region in Guangdong, covering 9 cities including Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Note: The average PM2.5 concentrations are calculated from hourly real-time air quality data published by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, aiming to follow the ministry’s standards for calculating averages for regions and over periods of time. The data can differ from official numbers published by the ministry, but it is reflective of overall trends.