Greenpeace Ranks 360 Chinese Cities by PM2.5 Air Pollution (Q1 2015) With the number of Chinese cities practicing the Ambient Air Quality Standard (GB3095-2012) increasing to 367 in 2015, the quantity of city-level air quality data available to the Chinese public now is unprecedented. The Ambient Air Quality Standard mandates regular monitoring of 6 air pollutants, including PM2.5 concentration. Greenpeace has ranked 360 cities offering valid air pollution data in Q1 2015, by analyzing their PM2.5 concentration. We have discovered the following highlights: PM2.5 pollution remains severe in 2015. In Q1 2015, the average PM2.5 concentration in 360 Chinese cities reached 66 μg/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter), almost doubling the national Grade II air quality standard (35μg/m3). More than 90% of all 360 cities failed to meet the national air quality standard in Q1 2015. Q1 PM2.5 concentration levels were up to standard in only 32 cities, while 141, or nearly 40%, of the cities recorded quarterly average PM2.5 concentrations more than twice the national standard. The unprecedentedly extensive disclosure of PM2.5 pollution data also reveals severity of the air pollution problem in China’s central and western regions. The provinces of Henan, Hubei, Hunan and Sichuan, all located in either Central or Western China, were among the 10 worst polluted provinces in Q1 2015 by PM2.5 concentrations. In particular, with quarterly PM2.5 concentrations of 103.3 μg/m3 and 99.2 μg/m3, the Provinces of Henan and Hubei have already surpassed Hebei Province which is notorious for its bad air quality. Centers of economic activities, such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Area, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta, are still facing severe PM2.5 pollution. Q1 PM2.5 concentrations in these three areas reached 96.9 μg/m3, 69.4 μg/m3 and 47.6 μg/m3 respectively. On closer inspection, the provinces that recorded the worst Q1 PM 2.5 pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Area and Yangtze River Delta are Hebei Province and Jiangsu Province respectively. Q1 PM2.5 concentrations came to 98.4 μg/m3 in Hebei and 76.7 μg/m3 in Jiangsu, outnumbering levels in their neighboring provinces by a large margin. How we created this ranking: In order to reflect PM2.5 pollution situations in Chinese cities in a comprehensive and objective fashion, Greenpeace took official data published by the Ministry of Environmental Protection. We obtained all the hourlyPM2.5 concentrations recorded by every single state-controlled monitoring station in 367 cities. Subsequently, we calculated the arithmetic means of all the data recorded in Q1 by each city to obtain the city-level Q1 average PM2.5 concentrations. We then calculated the arithmetic means of quarterly concentrations of all the prefecture-level cities with state-controlled air quality monitoring stations in each province to obtain the provincial Q1 PM2.5 concentrations. It is worth noting that we excluded seven cities from this ranking due to substantial flaws in their air quality data.
PM2.5 Ranking of China's 31 provinces in Q1, 2015
Quarterly average PM2.5 level (Îź Ranking
Province g/m3)
1
Henan
103.3
2
Hubei
99.2
3
Hebei
98.4
4
Beijing
92.4
5
Shandong
91.0
6
Chongqing
85.3
7
Tianjin
85.1
8
Jiangsu
76.7
9
Hunan
74.6
10
Sichuan
72.8
11
Shaanxi
71.0
12
Xinjiang
70.3
13
Liaoning
68.4
14
Shanghai
67.9
15
Jilin
67.6
16
Shanxi
66.0
17
Gansu
64.7
18
Anhu
63.9
19
Guangxi
62.6
20
Zhejiang
60.9
21
Ningxia
58.3
22
Jiangxi
51.6
23
Heilongjiang
51.0
24
Qinghai
50.2
25
Guangdong
47.6
26
Inner Mongolia
47.5
27
Guizhou
43.6
28
Yunnan
40.3
29
Fujian
39.9
30
Hainan
28.4
31
Tibet
26.7
PM2.5 Ranking of China's 360 cities in Q1, 2015
Quarterly average Ranking
City
Province PM2.5 level (Îźg/m3)
1
Baoding
Hebei
157.0
2
Kashi
Xinjiang
138.4
3
Xingtai
Hebei
137.4
4
Zhengzhou
Henan
134.7
5
Yichang
Hubei
130.7
6
Jiaozuo
Henan
125.1
7
Xiangyang
Hubei
124.3
8
Anyang
Henan
124.0
9
Heze
Shandong
120.3
10
Shijiazhuang
Hebei
117.6
11
Hengshui
Hebei
116.8
12
Handan
Hebei
116.0
13
Xinxiang
Henan
114.6
14
Dezhou
Shandong
113.9
15
Linxiazhou
Gansu
113.7
16
Jingmen
Hubei
113.1
17
Liaocheng
Shandong
112.8
18
Pingdingshan
Henan
111.4
19
Zigong
Sichuan
110.8
20
Zaozhuang
Shandong
109.8
21
Xiaogan
Hubei
107.1
22
Laiwu
Shandong
106.3
23
Linyi
Shandong
105.9
24
Suizhou
Hubei
104.7
25
Jingzhou
Hubei
103.7
26
Nanyang
Henan
103.7
27
Wuhan
Hubei
103.4
28
Zhoukou
Henan
102.8
29
Urumqi
Xinjiang
102.6
30
Zibo
Shandong
101.7
31
Dazhou
Sichuan
101.3
32
Xuchang
Henan
100.8
33
Tulufan
Xinjiang
100.6
34
Shouguang
Shandong
100.2
35
Puyang
Henan
100.1
36
Tangshan
Hebei
100.1
37
Luoyang
Henan
100.0
38
Harbin
Heilongjiang
99.4
39
Sanmenxia
Henan
99.0
40
Hetian
Xinjiang
98.3
41
Jinan
Shandong
98.0
42
Langfang
Hebei
97.3
43
Neijiang
Sichuan
97.0
44
Luzhou
Sichuan
97.0
45
Shenyang
Liaoning
96.1
46
Xinyang
Henan
94.9
47
Kaifeng
Henan
94.5
48
Chengdu
Sichuan
93.4
49
Yibin
Sichuan
93.1
50
Binzhou
Shandong
93.1
51
Luohe
Henan
92.8
52
Beijing
Beijing
92.4
53
Hanzhong
Shaanxi
91.9
54
Ezhou
Hubei
91.3
55
Zhumadian
Henan
89.8
56
Zhangqiu
Shandong
89.5
57
Meishan
Sichuan
89.4
58
Changsha
Hunan
89.3
59
Jining
Shandong
89.3
60
Shangqiu
Henan
89.2
61
Enshizhou
Hubei
88.4
62
Huangshi
Hubei
88.3
63
Nanchong
Sichuan
88.1
64
Xuzhou
Jiangsu
87.9
65
Taian
Shandong
86.0
66
Zhangjiagang
Jiangsu
85.4
67
Chongqing
Chongqing
85.3
68
Changzhou
Jiangsu
85.1
69
Tianjin
Tianjin
85.1
70
Dongying
Shandong
85.0
71
Zhuzhou
Hunan
84.6
72
Jiangyin
Jiangsu
84.5
73
Huanggang
Hubei
84.5
74
Hefei
Anhui
84.0
75
Anshan
Liaoning
83.0
76
Shaoyang
Hunan
82.0
77
Leshan
Sichuan
81.6
78
Ankang
Shaanxi
81.6
79
Changchun
Jilin
81.5
80
Weifang
Shandong
81.5
81
Cangzhou
Hebei
81.1
82
Shihezi
Xinjiang
80.8
83
Huaian
Jiangsu
80.6
84
Xiangtan
Hunan
80.0
85
Hengyang
Hunan
79.6
86
Liaoyang
Liaoning
79.3
87
Suqian
Jiangsu
79.2
88
Wuxi
Jiangsu
79.2
89
Huaibei
Anhui
79.2
90
Hebi
Henan
78.9
91
Changji
Xinjiang
78.9
92
Tongchuan
Shaanxi
78.8
93
Guangan
Sichuan
78.1
94
Taizhou
Jiangsu
78.0
95
Pingxiang
Jiangxi
77.8
96
Linfen
Shanxi
77.7
97
Ma'anshan
Anhui
77.6
98
Suzhou
Jiangsu
77.5
99
Deyang
Sichuan
77.3
100
Suining
Sichuan
77.1
101
Huzhou
Zhejiang
76.6
102
Yongzhou
Hunan
76.5
103
Laixi
Shandong
76.4
104
Liuzhou
Guangxi
76.4
105
Nanjing
Jiangsu
76.3
106
Xianning
Hubei
75.9
107
Liyang
Jiangsu
75.8
108
Zhangye
Gansu
75.5
109
Yuncheng
Shanxi
75.5
110
Zhangjiajie
Hunan
75.5
111
Rizhao
Shandong
75.5
112
Nantong
Jiangsu
75.5
113
Loudi
Hunan
75.4
114
Jilin
Jilin
75.2
115
Pingliang
Gansu
75.1
116
Huaihua
Hunan
74.6
117
Fushun
Liaoning
74.2
118
Weinan
Shaanxi
74.0
119
Shiyan
Hubei
73.9
120
Jiaonan
Shandong
73.7
121
Baishan
Jilin
73.7
122
Xi'an
Shaanxi
73.6
123
Tianshui
Gansu
73.3
124
Jurong
Jiangsu
72.7
125
Wafangdian
Liaoning
72.6
126
Shuozhou
Shanxi
72.2
127
Yiwu
Zhejiang
71.4
128
Zhenjiang
Jiangsu
71.4
129
Qinhuangdao
Hebei
71.2
130
Changde
Hunan
71.2
131
Liaoyuan
Jilin
71.0
132
Changshu
Jiangsu
71.0
133
Guilin
Guangxi
70.8
134
Siping
Jilin
70.7
135
Xianyang
Shaanxi
70.7
136
Suzhou
Anhui
70.7
137
Taiyuan
Shanxi
70.6
138
Laizhou
Shandong
70.5
139
Tongling
Anhui
70.3
140
Lianyungang
Jiangsu
70.2
141
Hangzhou
Zhejiang
70.2
142
Baoji
Shaanxi
70.1
143
Haimen
Jiangsu
69.9
144
Tieling
Liaoning
69.8
145
Yangzhou
Jiangsu
69.8
146
Laibin
Guangxi
69.1
147
Jintan
Jiangsu
69.0
148
Taicang
Jiangsu
68.9
149
Changzhi
Shanxi
68.9
150
Qitaihe
Heilongjiang
68.7
151
Bengbu
Anhui
68.4
152
Ziyang
Sichuan
68.1
153
Shanghai
Shanghai
67.9
154
Haozhou
Anhui
67.7
155
Jinzhong
Shanxi
67.6
156
Jinhua
Zhejiang
67.5
157
Jinzhou
Liaoning
67.4
158
Huludao
Liaoning
67.3
159
Lin'an
Zhejiang
67.3
160
Benxi
Liaoning
67.2
161
Shaoxing
Zhejiang
67.1
162
Yueyang
Hunan
67.1
163
Yancheng
Jiangsu
67.0
164
Jiaxing
Zhejiang
66.9
165
Xiangxizhou
Hunan
66.5
166
Pingdu
Shandong
66.4
167
Wujiang
Jiangsu
66.3
168
Baise
Guangxi
66.2
169
Guigang
Guangxi
66.1
170
Panjin
Liaoning
66.0
171
Yulin
Guangxi
65.7
172
Hezhou
Guangxi
65.5
173
Qingdao
Shandong
65.3
174
Wuwei
Gansu
65.2
175
Haidong
Qinghai
65.2
176
Akesu
Xinjiang
65.0
177
Fuyang
Zhejiang
64.9
178
Chongzuo
Guangxi
64.7
179
Wuhu
Anhui
64.5
180
Mianyang
Sichuan
64.5
181
Kunshan
Jiangsu
64.2
182
Ku'erle
Xinjiang
64.2
183
Chuzhou
Anhui
64.0
184
Hegang
Heilongjiang
63.6
185
Hechi
Guangxi
63.5
186
Zhaoyuan
Shandong
63.5
187
Zhongwei
Ningxia
63.3
188
Chaoyang
Liaoning
63.1
189
Tonghua
Jilin
63.1
190
Liupanshui
Guizhou
63.1
191
Xinzhou
Shanxi
63.0
192
Mudanjiang
Heilongjiang
62.8
193
Yangquan
Shanxi
62.5
194
Wuhai
Inner Mongolia
62.5
195
Yixing
Jiangsu
62.3
196
Jincheng
Shanxi
62.1
197
Shangluo
Shaanxi
61.8
198
Chaozhou
Guangdong
61.7
199
Baicheng
Jilin
61.6
200
Yiyang
Hunan
61.6
201
Nanning
Guangxi
61.3
202
Baotou
Inner Mongolia
61.3
203
Zunyi
Guizhou
61.1
204
Dingxi
Gansu
61.0
205
Dandong
Liaoning
60.9
206
Ningbo
Zhejiang
60.7
207
Fuyang
Anhui
60.7
208
Shuangyashan
Heilongjiang
60.5
209
Chenzhou
Hunan
60.5
210
Wuzhong
Ningxia
60.2
211
Bazhong
Sichuan
60.2
212
Huangnan
Qinghai
59.6
213
Longnan
Gansu
59.6
214
Jiuquan
Gansu
59.4
215
Yan'an
Shaanxi
59.4
216
Qingyang
Gansu
59.3
217
Baoshan
Yunnan
59.0
218
Xining
Qinghai
58.6
219
Jimo
Shandong
58.6
220
Taizhou
Zhejiang
58.1
221
Huainan
Anhui
58.1
222
Xuancheng
Anhui
57.7
223
Wenzhou
Zhejiang
57.6
224
Jingdezhen
Jiangxi
57.5
225
Jiaozhou
Shandong
57.4
226
Yantai
Shandong
57.2
227
Wujiaqu
Xinjiang
57.1
228
Dalian
Liaoning
57.1
229
Songyuan
Jilin
56.9
230
Lu‘an
Anhui
56.8
231
Yinchuan
Ningxia
56.8
232
Ya'an
Sichuan
56.7
233
Yili
Xinjiang
56.3
234
Baiyin
Gansu
56.2
235
Zhaoqing
Guangdong
56.1
236
Lanzhou
Gansu
56.1
237
Jiangmen
Guangdong
56.1
238
Lvliang
Shanxi
55.9
239
Tongliao
Inner Mongolia
55.8
240
Yingkou
Liaoning
55.8
241
Guyuan
Ningxia
55.8
242
Anqing
Anhui
55.8
243
Shizuishan
Ningxia
55.6
244
Qinzhou
Guangxi
55.5
245
Jiujiang
Jiangxi
55.4
246
Guiyang
Guizhou
55.1
247
Qingyuan
Guangdong
55.1
248
Yanbianzhou
Jilin
54.6
249
Chifeng
Inner Mongolia
54.5
250
Daqing
Heilongjiang
54.1
251
Xishuangbanna
Yunnan
54.1
252
Naqu
Tibet
53.8
253
Wuzhou
Guangxi
53.5
254
Lishui
Zhejiang
53.2
255
Quzhou
Zhejiang
53.0
256
Suihua
Heilongjiang
53.0
257
Hami
Xinjiang
52.7
258
Wenshan
Yunnan
52.4
259
Nanchang
Jiangxi
52.1
260
Fuzhou
Jiangxi
52.1
261
Chengde
Hebei
51.8
262
Bayannaoer
Inner Mongolia
51.8
263
Honghe
Yunnan
51.7
264
Rushan
Shandong
51.6
265
Jieyang
Guangdong
51.2
266
Penglai
Shandong
51.2
267
Fuxin
Liaoning
50.5
268
Guangzhou
Guangdong
50.5
269
Datong
Shanxi
50.5
270
Beihai
Guangxi
50.0
271
Pu'er
Yunnan
50.0
272
Yingtan
Jiangxi
49.8
273
Maoming
Guangdong
49.6
274
Zhuhai
Guangdong
49.6
275
Foshan
Guangdong
49.4
276
Huhhot
Inner Mongolia
49.4
277
Hainan
Qinghai
49.4
278
Dongguan
Guangdong
49.3
279
Bijie
Guizhou
49.3
280
Zhaotong
Yunnan
48.6
281
Jinchang
Gansu
48.5
282
Fangchenggang
Guangxi
48.4
283
Wendeng
Shandong
48.2
284
Yulin
Shaanxi
48.1
285
Wulanchabu
Inner Mongolia
48.1
286
Lincang
Yunnan
46.9
287
Shantou
Guangdong
46.8
288
Meizhou
Guangdong
46.4
289
Kelamayi
Xinjiang
46.2
290
Zhongshan
Guangdong
46.2
291
Zhangzhou
Fujian
45.4
292
Qiqiha'er
Heilongjiang
45.3
293
Yangjiang
Guangdong
45.3
294
Xing'an
Inner Mongolia
45.3
295
Ji'an
Jiangxi
45.2
296
Huangshan
Anhui
45.1
297
Xinyu
Jiangxi
45.0
298
Jiamusi
Heilongjiang
44.9
299
Heyuan
Guangdong
44.9
300
Weihai
Shandong
44.8
301
Haibei
Qinghai
44.7
302
Haixi
Qinghai
44.6
303
Ganzhou
Jiangxi
44.5
304
Yichun
Jiangxi
44.4
305
Shangrao
Jiangxi
44.2
306
Tongren
Guizhou
44.1
307
Rongcheng
Shandong
43.6
308
Shenzhen
Guangdong
43.1
309
Yunfu
Guangdong
43.1
310
Shanwei
Guangdong
42.8
311
Chizhou
Anhui
42.7
312
Dali
Yunnan
42.6
313
Putian
Fujian
42.5
314
Shaoguan
Guangdong
42.2
315
Dehongzhou
Yunnan
41.8
316
Xiamen
Fujian
41.0
317
Panzhihua
Sichuan
40.4
318
Fuzhou
Fujian
40.4
319
Sanming
Fujian
39.6
320
Zhoushan
Zhejiang
39.3
321
Ningde
Fujian
39.0
322
Alashan
Inner Mongolia
38.7
323
Qiandongnan
Guizhou
38.2
324
Jiayuguan
Gansu
38.2
325
Nanping
Fujian
37.6
326
Quanzhou
Fujian
36.7
327
Longyan
Fujian
36.7
328
Zhanjiang
Guangdong
36.7
329
Zhangjiakou
Hebei
35.6
330
Kunming
Yunnan
35.0
331
Nujiang
Yunnan
34.5
332
Qujing
Yunnan
34.1
333
Anshun
Guizhou
33.7
334
Heihe
Heilongjiang
33.4
335
Huizhou
Guangdong
33.3
336
Guangyuan
Sichuan
32.7
337
Liangshanzhou
Sichuan
32.1
338
Yuxi
Yunnan
31.7
339
Ordos
Inner Mongolia
31.7
340
Haikou
Hainan
31.3
341
Chuxiong
Yunnan
30.0
342
Changdu
Tibet
29.7
343
Yushu
Qinghai
29.0
344
Yichun
Heilongjiang
28.7
345
Qianxinan
Guizhou
27.6
346
Daxing'anling
Heilongjiang
27.2
347
Rikaze
Tibet
26.7
348
Tacheng
Xinjiang
25.9
349
Sanya
Hainan
25.5
350
Xilinguole
Inner Mongolia
23.6
351
Shannan
Tibet
23.0
352
Jixi
Heilongjiang
21.9
353
Lasa
Tibet
21.5
354
Qiannan
Guizhou
20.4
355
Ali
Tibet
19.1
356
Diqing
Yunnan
18.1
357
Abazhou
Sichuan
17.1
358
Aletai
Xinjiang
16.5
359
Lijiang
Yunnan
14.6
360
Linzhi
Tibet
13.1