A spike in air pollution in China in the first quarter of this year was driven by a post-COVID industrial recovery along with unusually warm weather, a government official said on Tuesday.
Rising industrial output and the pursuit of economic growth in some regions caused a jump in emissions, said Liu Bingjiang, director of the department in charge of air pollution at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment .
"This is where the problem lies - how to coordinate between economic development and environmental protection," he said. But unfavourable weather contributed to the smog, with temperatures hitting record highs for the time of year in some parts of the north, making it harder for pollution to disperse.
In the first two months of the year, average concentrations of hazardous airborne particles known PM2.5, caused mainly by burning fossil fuels, rose 8.5% to 51 micrograms per cubic metre, according toThe World Health Organisation recommends levels of no more than 5 micrograms.
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