CCTV News: The Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced the national environmental air quality status in February 2025 to the media on March 24.

Air Quality

Overall situation

In February, the average concentration of PM2.5 in 339 prefecture-level and above cities across the country was 37.3 micrograms/cubic meter, a year-on-year decrease of 16.4%; the average concentration of PM10 was 58 micrograms/cubic meter, a year-on-year decrease of 7.9%; the average concentration of O3 was 97 micrograms/cubic meter, a year-on-year decrease of 2.0%; the average concentration of SO2 was 8 micrograms/cubic meter, a year-on-year decrease of 11.1%; the average concentration of NO2 was 21 micrograms/cubic meter, a year-on-year increase of 16.7%; the average concentration of CO was 1.0 mg/cubic meter, a year-on-year decrease of 9.1%.

In February, the proportion of days with good air quality in 339 prefecture-level and above cities across the country was 90.1%, an increase of 8.3 percentage points year-on-year; the proportion of days with severe and above pollution was 0.8%, a decrease of 3.2 percentage points year-on-year. The average number of days exceeding the standard caused by sandstorms is 2.0%, of which the proportion of days with severe and above pollution is 0.5%.

Figure 1 The proportion of days at all levels in 339 prefecture-level and above cities across the country in February 2025

Figure 2 In February 2025, the concentration and year-on-year changes of six indicators in 339 prefecture-level and above cities across the country

Key areas

(I) Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding areas

In February, the average PM2.5 concentration in "2+36" cities in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding areas was 49.5 micrograms/cubic meter, a year-on-year decrease of 26.1%; the average O3 concentration was 104 micrograms/cubic meter, a year-on-year decrease of 3.7%; the average proportion of excellent days was 80.5%, a year-on-year increase of 13.4 percentage points; the average proportion of severe and above pollution days was 0.4%, a year-on-year decrease of 6.6 percentage points. The average number of days exceeding the standard caused by sandstorms is 0.6%, and no severe or above pollution occurs.

In February, the PM2.5 concentration in Beijing was 25.1 micrograms/cubic meter, a year-on-year decrease of 35.8%; the O3 concentration was 84 micrograms/cubic meter, a year-on-year constant; the proportion of excellent days was 89.3%, a year-on-year decrease of 3.8 percentage points; there were no severe or above days of pollution, a year-on-year constant. No exceeding the standard due to sandstorms appeared.

(II) Yangtze River Delta Region

In February, the average PM2.5 concentration in 31 cities in the Yangtze River Delta region was 48.1 micrograms/cubic meter, a year-on-year decrease of 2.0%; the average O3 concentration was 104 micrograms/cubic meter, a year-on-year decrease of 5.5%; the average number of good days was 84.3%, a year-on-year increase of 1.0 percentage points; there were no severe or above pollution days, a year-on-year decrease of 3.0 percentage points. No exceeding the standard due to sandstorms appeared.

(III) Fenwei Plain

In February, the average PM2.5 concentration in 13 cities in the Fenwei Plain was 48.3 micrograms/cubic meter, a year-on-year decrease of 33.0%; the average O3 concentration was 100 micrograms/cubic meter, a year-on-year decrease of 2.9%; the average ratio of good days was 82.1%, a year-on-year increase of 25.6 percentage points; the average ratio of severe and above pollution days was 1.1%, a year-on-year decrease of 4.7 percentage points. The average number of days exceeding the standard caused by sandstorms is 1.4%, and no severe or above pollution occurs.

Figure 3 Comparison of air quality in the country and key areas in February 2025

Key cities

In February, among the 168 key cities: the top 20 cities with better air quality are Lhasa, Guiyang, Zhangjiakou, Haikou, Ya'an, Huizhou, Huangshan, Shenzhen, Lishui, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Chengde, Zhuhai, Beijing, Zhoushan, Nanning, Suining, Dongguan, Chengdu and Zhongshan; the last 20 cities with poor air quality are Urumqi, Xianyang, Xi'an, Xiaogan, Anyang, Xiangyang, Xuzhou, Luoyang, Heze, Hebi, Xinxiang, Xingtai, Weinan, Yuncheng, Linyi, Nanyang, Huaibei, Kaifeng, Luohe and Zaozhuang.

In February, among the 168 key cities: the top 20 cities with lower PM2.5 concentrations are Lhasa, Zhangjiakou, Haikou, Guiyang, Shenzhen, Huizhou, Chengde, Zhuhai, Datong, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Xiamen, Beijing, Baotou, Hohhot, Guangzhou, Shuozhou, Zhoushan, Ya'an and Luliang; the last 20 cities with higher PM2.5 concentrations are Urumqi, Xiaogan, Xianyang, Jingzhou, Xi'an, Luohe, Shangqiu, Nanyang, Anyang, Zhoukou, Xiangyang, Fuyang, Jingmen, Baoji, Xuchang, Huaibei, Kaifeng, Luoyang, Pingdingshan and Xinyang.