Top planner targets 40% cut in PM2.5

A 40 percent drop in PM2.5 by 2020 from the average level in 2013 has been targeted for the heavily polluted Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster.

The reduction in airborne particulate matter that has a diameter of less than 2.5 microns - and can penetrate the lungs - has been set by China's top economic planning agency to improve air quality and protect the ecological environment in the three areas.

According to officials at the National Development and Reform Commission, the annual average reading of PM2.5 in the region will drop to 73 by 2017 and to 64 by 2020.