China's smog-prone northern province of Hubei met its air quality targets by a big margin during the winter after concerted efforts to tackle emissions, a local official said on Sunday, without mentioning coronavirus-related factory shutdowns.
Average PM2.5 concentrations between October and March dropped 15 per cent compared with the previous year to 61 micrograms per cubic metre.
Sulphur dioxide also fell by a third, said He Litao of the provincial environmental bureau.
Most experts have attributed the significant reduction in air pollution throughout China in the first quarter of the year to the coronavirus outbreak and tough containment measures, which put cities and entire provinces in lockdown and sharply reduced traffic and industrial activity throughout the country.
With millions of people staying at home, concentrations of lung-damaging PM2.5 particles fell by about 15 per cent in more than 300 Chinese cities in the first three months of the year.
In Shanghai, emissions fell by about 20 per cent in the first quarter of the year, while in Wuhan, where the pandemic originated, monthly averages dropped more than a third compared to last year.
However, Mr He attributed the local decline in pollution to the "conscientious implementation" of government initiatives, even in the face of unfavourable weather conditions.
According to a winter action plan published last year, 10 cities in Hubei were expected to cut PM2.5 concentrations by up to 6 per cent compared with the previous year.
Despite the decline, average PM2.5 concentrations were still much higher than China's official standard of 35 micrograms and the 10 micrograms recommended by the World Health Organisation.
