Urban air quality evaluations under two versions of the national ambient air quality standards of China

Özet

The air quality of urban areas is of a great concern for residents living in cities. China has released a newNational Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) in 2012 to improve the air quality evaluation indexbecause the reported air quality situation from governments is inconsistent with public sensing. In total,190 cities' hourly monitoring data are publicized in the national web platform. By using the above data,the air pollution indexes (APIs) under the previous NAAQS and air quality indexes (AQI) for all 190 cities'were calculated. With the new NAAQS, the national attainment rate has fallen from 73.63% to 59.62%with regional differences. 8 of the 10 cities with the worst air quality are located in North China aroundBeijing, while 9 of the 10 cities with the best air quality are located in South China. These results indicatethat cities in North China, including Beijing, need to address the air pollution together as the pollution inNorth China is a regional issue and not a local issue.