Monitoring network to be further expanded

China's air quality monitoring network is to be expanded to cover a wider area, especially at the grassroots level, to facilitate scientific and effective control of airborne pollution.

By March, more than 5,000 monitoring stations had been built across the country. They are managed by the environmental monitoring authorities at four levels - State, provincial, city and county - according to Gong Zhengyu, head of the air quality department at the China National Environmental Monitoring Center.

The center operates 1,436 State-level monitoring stations nationwide, which ensures that the data collected are independent of local government oversight, thus preventing interference and guaranteeing accuracy and authenticity, he said.