China

China's unprecedented economic growth, coupled with heavy reliance on fossil fuels, contributed towards a significant air pollution concern by the turn of the century. By 2000, China was the world’s leading consumer of coal and largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). 

In 2019, the average annual exposure to PM2.5 reached 34.8 µg/m³—seven times higher than the WHO guideline—resulting in an estimated 100 deaths per 100,000 people, or nearly 1.9 million premature deaths nationwide. PM2.5 is a leading cause of mortality in the country, with 25% of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 25% from strokes, 23% from lung cancer, 20% from ischemic heart disease, 19% from type 2 diabetes, and 10% from neonatal disorders being attributable to fine particle pollution.

The primary sources of PM2.5 pollution are residential (17.98%) and Industry (14.29%), followed by Anthropogenic fugitive, combustion, industrial dust (12.79%), and Agriculture (10.99%). 

China’s air pollution challenges are concentrated in several key regions. Major hotspots include the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (Jing-Jin-Ji) region, the Fenwei Plain, which includes Xi’an, and the Sichuan Basin, which contains Chengdu and Chongqing, the Twain-Hu Basin around Wuhan, the Pearl River Delta including Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and the Yangtze River Delta including Shanghai and Nanjing. These regions represent the overlap of the country’s primary population and industrial centres and natural geographical and meteorological airsheds. 

Since 2010, China has made significant strides in addressing air pollution, balancing rapid economic growth with large-scale environmental reforms. Following a severe haze event in northern China in 2013, triggered by industrial, transport, and domestic sectors, China built an extensive air monitoring network, including forecasting and early warning systems, and launched three major national plans: the 2013 Action Plan on Air Pollution Prevention, the 2018 Three-Year Battle for Blue Skies, and the 2023 Action Plan for Continuous Air Quality Improvement. These plans integrate air quality standards, source control, clean energy transitions, regional coordination, and pollution-carbon reduction synergies. 

China has built one of the most comprehensive and ambitious air pollution policy frameworks in the world, beginning with the 2013 Action Plan on Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, which launched the country’s “war on pollution” by targeting PM2.5 reductions, cutting coal use, and expanding clean energy. This was followed by the 2018 Three-Year Action Plan to Win the Blue Sky Battle, which deepened reforms in heavy industry and transport, particularly in key regions like the Jing-Jin-Ji area and the Yangtze River Delta. The most recent 2023 Action Plan for Continuous Improvement of Air Quality aims to consolidate these gains, set new regional targets, and integrate air quality with climate policy. China has implemented world-class vehicle emission standards (China IV to VI) and matched them with National VI fuel quality standards, closing regulatory gaps in the transport sector. On the industrial side, the country has completed ultra-low emission retrofits on 95% of coal-fired power units, eliminated hundreds of thousands of small coal-fired boilers, and transitioned over 39 million rural households to clean heating in northern regions. The rapid rise of electric vehicles, now over 20 million, reflects strong policy incentives and mandates. Supporting these efforts is a robust and centralized national air quality monitoring network, which helped to address any concerns with local government data manipulation, and a 2022 plan to align pollution and carbon reduction goals, marking a strategic shift toward integrated environmental governance. 

China also engages in regional cooperation mechanisms that support coordinated responses to air pollution, participating in several established frameworks that facilitate joint monitoring and policy alignment. These include the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET), the North-East Asian Subregional Programme for Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC), and the Asia-Pacific Regional Action Programme on Air Pollution adopted by ESCAP member States in 2022.

With the help of the above-mentioned efforts,  China has met 5 out of 9 global clean air targets, including implementing clean production incentives, vehicle emission standards (Euro 4 or higher), reducing sulphur levels in diesel to below 50 ppm, and introducing incentives for cleaner residential energy use alongside established national air quality standards. 

Despite a 55% increase in GDP and 106% growth in car ownership since 2015, the country achieved a 35% reduction in PM2.5 concentrations nationwide by 2023. In Beijing, PM2.5 levels dropped from 90 µg/m³ in 2013 to 32 µg/m³ in 2023, an achievement widely recognized as a model for other cities by the United Nations Environment Programme.

Hotspots regions such as the Jing-Jin-Ji area, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Fen-Wei Plain have seen substantial improvements in air quality due to aggressive policy action. China's clean energy revolution played a pivotal role—60% of new energy consumption (2013–2022) came from clean sources, including hydropower, solar, and wind, all of which now rank first globally in installed capacity. Additionally, the closure of small coal-fired boilers (from 460,000 to under 100,000 units), the elimination of over 39 million rural coal-burning households, and the ultra-low emission transformation of 95% of coal power units significantly reduced nationwide coal use. 

China also transformed its industrial and transport sectors. Over 1 billion tons of outdated coal capacity, 300 million tons of steel, and 400 million tons of cement production have been phased out. National VI vehicle emission standards were implemented, and 40 million high-pollution vehicles were retired. The proliferation of electric vehicles (EVs) has been noteworthy—China is home to over 20 million EVs, roughly 50% of the global total, and 80% of its public buses are electric, with several cities reaching full fleet electrification. 

Despite meaningful improvements in advancing air pollution management and reductions in air pollution levels and exposure, some challenges remain. One of the most persistent issues is the rise of tropospheric ozone, which poses direct risks to human health and also damages vegetation. Long-term and widespread increases in ozone have been observed, driven in part by ongoing volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and decreased PM2.5 pollution. In Eastern China, high aerosol optical depth has been observed year-round, often exceeding 0.6 in the Jing-Jin-Ji and Yangtze River Delta. In northern China, aerosol depths spike in February, reflecting increased wintertime heating. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) also remains a challenge in these regions in the colder seasons from October to March, due to heating and atmospheric inversions. China remains a large global emitter of SO2, and SO2 levels are particularly elevated in Inner Mongolia throughout the year due to coal mining activities and power plants. 

Maintaining momentum for PM2.5 reduction is equally critical. Recent trends suggest that the pace of improvement has slowed and may be plateauing. In a scenario where PM2.5 levels remain at 2024 concentrations through 2035, the projected annual mortality burden rises significantly, reaching 2.90 million excess deaths. Analyses indicate that if the reduction rates achieved during the first years of the 2013 Action Plan were maintained, it would take roughly four decades for China to meet long-term PM2.5 targets. Achieving further progress will require attention to emission sectors that have not yet experienced substantial reductions.

Land-use–related particulate pollution presents an additional challenge. Desertification in the Gobi region and sandstorms originating from neighboring Mongolia continue to contribute episodically to severe fine particulate pollution, such as the severe dust storms that hit the Jing-Jin-Ji region in early 2023. These events highlight the importance of expanding regional cooperation to address dust-related emissions and land degradation. Strengthened cross-border action on dust pollution presents an opportunity to complement domestic measures for integrated air pollution reduction.