Crackdown on food outlets cleans air, upsets residents

A city in Hunan province regularly hit by smog has seen an improvement in its air quality after a controversial crackdown that included the closure of smoky snack stands and restaurants, officials said.

The Shangqiu government introduced a series of tough measures after the Ministry of Environmental Protection summoned its leaders, along with those from four other heavily polluted cities, on April 28.

According to an official statement, as of Thursday, the city's average concentration of PM2.5 - tiny pollutant particles that can harm human health - had fallen by 3.4 percent month-on-month to 56 micrograms per cubic meter. The average PM10 level was 82 micrograms per cubic meter, down by 19.6 percent month-on-month.