Zhuhai moved up one place forward to rank 10th among 168 major domestic cities in terms of overall air quality in 2021 through continuous efforts, according to statistics from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

Local atmospheric environment management system was optimized together with the launch of nine campaigns including the treatment of refined oil and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Altogether 13 key areas were under detailed monitoring and 115 sites with abnormal high VOC emissions were put under management and control. Pilot operation of an innovative pollution prevention and control service based on artificial intelligence video image recognition technology was implemented.

Three-day warning forecasts on Air Quality Index (AQI) and the concentration of six major pollutants in Zhuhai and its districts are reported daily. Meanwhile, 499 guidelines for air pollution prevention and control were issued, and 13 rounds of responses to air pollution were carried out. The number of pollution days in 2021 was reduced by six year-on-year.

Aerial view of Xiangshan Lake Park in New Xiangzhou [Photo by Zhao Zi / Zhuhai Media Group]

Structures of local industries and energy consumption went through green upgrades and more bulk cargo chose transportation via railways or waterways instead of roads. Supervision on industrial companies was strengthened with an annual investment of 20 million yuan ($3 million), reducing VOC emissions by 1,119 metric tons. 

The application of new energy was greatly promoted where all new or renovated taxis and registered car-hailing vehicles in 2021 were electric.

Nine remote sensing monitoring sites for vehicle exhaust and two individual monitoring sites for black-smoke vehicles were set up as well as an online monitoring platform for dust and noise of citywide construction sites.

Zhuhai's AQI daily compliance rate reached the highest level in five years to 95.1 percent in 2021 with a year-on-year increase of 1.7 percentage points, 4.7 percentage points higher than the provincial target. 

The city enjoyed 347 days of fairly good to good air quality last year and the concentrations of six atmospheric pollutants all reached the given standards. Its average concentration of PM 2.5 was 20 µg/m³, much better than World Health Organization's standards. Average concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and carbon monoxide (CO) decreased by 8.3 percent and 11.1 percent respectively and that of ozone stood at 144 µg/m³.

Next, Zhuhai will take an active part in regional joint air pollution prevention and control in the Pearl River Delta region and will strive to make new breakthroughs in key indexes such as AQI and intensity of PM 2.5 through accelerated industrial, energy, and transportation structure adjustments.