context: The PRC’s air pollution control efforts began with the inclusion of PM2.5 monitoring in 2012. The GB3095-2012 revision marked a milestone by setting an annual PM2.5 limit of 35 µg/m³, corresponding to the World Health Organisation’s first-stage interim target. Following the release of this standard, the PRC launched three national air pollution control action plans, leading to a 57 percent drop in PM2.5 concentrations from 2013–22. Beijing’s PM2.5 levels fell from 89.5 µg/m³ in 2013 to 30 µg/m³ in 2022, with heavy pollution days decreasing from 58–3.
Following the blue sky protection campaign, scholars have long called for stricter air quality standards in the PRC, reports Caixin.
The cost-benefit analysis indicates that stricter air quality standards could yield significant health benefits, surpassing implementation costs at lower pollution levels. As 74 percent of Chinese cities now meet the current national PM2.5 standard, experts argue that tighter limits are necessary to sustain progress and further protect public health.
In 2021, the World Health Organisation tightened its air quality guidelines, lowering the PM2.5 annual limit from 10 to 5 µg/m³. This prompted renewed academic calls for the PRC to align with stricter global standards to maximise health benefits. Research suggests a phased approach: reducing the PM2.5 limit to 25 µg/m³ by 2025, 15 µg/m³ by 2035, and 10 µg/m³ by 2050.
On 24 February, at a MEE (Ministry of Ecology and Environment) press conference, Li Tianwei 李天威 MEE Atmospheric Environment Department director, announced that the ministry began revising the ambient air quality standards (GB3095-2012) in 2022. Significant progress has been made in assessing implementation, evaluating health impacts and setting new limit values, said Li.
The revision focus on PM2.5 and PM10, the most harmful pollutants to human health. Li noted that the new standards will not blindly follow the strictest international levels or pursue rapid improvements at any cost. Instead, they will be set at a level that is ambitious yet achievable, allowing local governments to gradually meet the new requirements with available funding, technology and methods.
Air quality standards are legally binding regulations that set pollutant concentration limits based on toxicology, epidemiology, risk assessments and societal capacity. In the PRC, these standards hold the same legal weight as the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law, serving as the highest authority in air quality management.