Hazardous air particles in Beijing exceed national target, state media says

Hazardous air particles blamed for asthma and breathing problems show up in the Chinese capital at a rate of more than double the national target, an environmental watchdog said on Thursday, according to state media.

Pollution has triggered increasing unease in China, where smog blankets many major cities, including Beijing, home to 21 million people. The government has launched a war on pollution, vowing to abandon a decades-old economic model of growth at all costs that has damaged China's water, air and soil.

The average density of PM 2.5 particle pollution in Beijing stands at 85.9 micrograms per cubic meter, or 1.45 times more than the national standard, the official Xinhua news agency reported the watchdog as saying.

PM 2.5, which refers to particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, leads to hazardous smog that is a major cause of asthma and respiratory diseases, experts say. The average densities of nitrogen dioxide and PM 10, another type of particle, both exceeded national standards, Xinhua said.

Lung cancer rates are rising in Beijing, say health officials, with the capital ranked among the world's most polluted cities. Environmental awareness is growing in China, where a new documentary on pollution set off a national debate after its release late in February by journalist Chai Jing.  

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