China removes air quality figures within a week

Shanghai's air quality watchdog removed the data from its website at noon yesterday, only days after it began reporting the amount of PM2.5 particles in the air on Monday.

Air monitoring systems for PM2.5 particles were placed in the Shanghai districts of Putuo District and the Pudong New Area, both of which failed to meet the new standard. Some readings were more than two and a half times higher than the country's target.

Fu Qingyan, chief engineer at the center, said that the release of PM2.5 data was still under test and not stable so far. She added that the results that were released were part of a trail, although refused to say why the data had been removed from the website. A Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau official has said that Shanghai would officially release PM2.5 data from June.

A senior Chinese environmental official recently said that two-thirds of China's cities are currently failing to meet stricter air quality standards, and the State Council added to these concerns, issuing new limits on pollutants to go into effect nationwide by 2016.

Posted by Joseph Hutton