“2023 is the first year that China’s national average PM2.5 level has increased year-on-year since the beginning of China’s ‘war on pollution’ in 2013,” a study by independent research organisation the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said.
PM2.5 particles, if inhaled, can have serious health risks, linked to premature deaths in people with heart or lung disease, as well as a host of breathing and other health issues, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.
“The overall increase in human-caused emissions has pushed the pollution level higher, in addition to unfavourable weather conditions,” CREA said. Chinese cities including the capital Beijing were once infamous for the thick smog that smothered their residents, especially in winter.
But the country declared a “war on pollution” after winning the Winter Olympics bid in 2015,…
