Air pollutants increase by 20% in Beijing   

北京环保局长：一季度空气质量较差 PM10上升超20%

北京市环保局局长陈添2日在北京城市服务管理广播节目中透露，今年一季度，北京市PM10和二氧化氮同比上升20%以上。污染最严重的1月份，两项污染物浓度同比增加47%。

Beijing (CNS) -- Beijing's air quality has declined in the first quarter of this year, reaching its worst in January, the local municipal environmental protection bureau said on Monday.

Chen Tian, head of the bureau, said in a live broadcast that the levels of PM10 and nitrogen dioxide increased by 20 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period last year. The levels increased by 47 percent in January.

He attributed it to motor vehicles and home heating with coal, saying the city's emissions have exceeded its environmental capacity. Oxynitride emitted by 5.25 million automobiles in Beijing accounts for more than 56 percent of the total oxynitride emissions in the city, Chen added.

Chen also said the government will put more effort into lowering tailpipe emissions, as only about a hundred thousand vehicles currently meet the Beijing V standard.

Construction of two heating plants in the northwest and northeast parts of the city will be accelerated to reduce individual coal-fired heating, Chen added.