For a rapidly developing nation that has high levels of both household air pollution and industrial emissions, air quality is a key public health concern.

However, in recent years, the concentration of tiny particles that cause the most damage to health has dropped, together with the practice of burning solid fuels in households.

Positive News reports that between 2013 and 2017, particle pollution in 74 key Chinese cities has fallen by an average of 33%.

“It follows extensive efforts to control emissions. In 2005, 61 per cent of people cooked using coal or wood in their homes. This reduced to 32 per cent in 2017. In Beijing and around, coal heating was banned in favour of fossil (natural) gas, while clean energy has been promoted across the whole of China.”

The research was published earlier in September by the Lancet and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the China National Key Research and Development Program.

The big work is still awaiting, as researchers agree that more sustainable development policies need to be implemented and enforced, to minimize the impact of air pollution in China on population health and long-term economic development.