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Beijing's environment best in a decade: official
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-08-07 20:33

BEIJING: Beijing's air quality is now at its best in a decade, the city's top official said Friday.

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During the first half of the year, Beijing had 23 more "blue sky" days than the corresponding period last year, said Liu Qi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Beijing's Party chief.

On 80.7 percent of the days in the first half of this year, air quality of Beijing was above level II, he said.

Beijing uses a five-grade classification of air quality on the basis of pollution indices, with Grade I being the best and Grade V the worst. Days with Grade I and II air quality are regarded as "blue sky" days.

Liu made the remarks at an Olympic Games' city forum organized by the Beijing municipal government on the one year anniversary of Beijing Olympic Games.

In 2008, Beijing had 274 "blue-sky" days, the result of vehicle restrictions for the Olympic Games and a $15-billion investment in air quality improvement projects.