As heavy smog blanketed North China's Hebei Province on Sunday, with levels of PM2.5 higher than 500 micrograms per cubic meter in places, some areas in the province are still failing to reveal complete pollution data, despite a damning report in August that said this could hinder efforts to reduce pollution.
On Sunday, some prefecture-level cities in the province were reporting specific pollutant surveillance data, after an August report by the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) revealed that major cities in Hebei only reported an overall Air Quality Index (AQI). However, there was still incomplete pollution data for some Hebei counties.
Data released by the Hebei air quality real-time publishing platform should include PM2.5, PM10 and sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and carbon monoxide.
The IPE's Blue Sky Roadmap Report found that all prefecture-level cities in Hebei, including capital Shijiazhuang, Baoding and Handan, only published the AQI.
On Sunday, while these major cities were reporting all necessary data, major counties in the province were still only showing the overall AQI. These included Nanhe in Xingtai and Gaobeidian in Baoding.
The IPE said that the air quality in those counties was actually worse with a higher pollution density.
The report said a lack of data about specific pollutants would badly affect the early warning and control of air pollution. The data is crucial to understand air patterns and pinpoint large sources of pollutants.
China requires data about AQI, major pollutants and air quality criteria to be released, according to the Technical Regulation on Ambient Air Quality Index issued in 2012.
Heavy smog has shrouded Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan and Shanxi provinces from Sunday to Monday morning.
