Beijing Pollution Worsens Despite Massive Efforts to Reduce Smog

There have been so many efforts to clean up Beijing’s air lately. But despite things like forming the ‘smog police,’ replacing all taxis with 'clean-energy' vehicles and shutting down the city's last coal-run power plant the pollution has actually gotten worse. 

PM2.5 levels in Beijing and its surrounding areas increased significantly during the first four months of the year, Shanghai Daily reports. 

In the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region PM2.5 levels jumped by 20 percent to 85 micrograms per cubic meter from January to April, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection. In Beijing the daily average for the first four months of the year was 76. That’s up 11.8 percent compared to the same time period last year.

Despite the poor air quality, the capital still has grand plans to drastically cut down on air pollution levels. As of now, the goal is to reduce PM2.5 levels to below 60 micrograms per cubic meter by the end of this year. In 2016, the daily average was 73.

READ MORE: Smog-Free Bicycles Might Soon Become a Real Thing in Beijing

The good news is that Beijing’s air quality did see some improvements in April. The average for the month was 53. Even still, Beijing is going to have to do a lot better if they want to meet their lofty goals. 

[Image via Shanghai Daily]