Improved air quality makes for easier breathing in Beijing

The average concentration of PM 2.5 last month in Beijing decreased by more than 70 percent year-on-year and reached a low of 34 micrograms per cubic meter, said Beijing's environmental authority.

It's the first month that Beijing had an average concentration of PM 2.5 - hazardous fine particles measuring 2.5 microns in diameter or smaller - which was lower than the national standard safe level of 35 mcg per cu m since measurements began in 2012, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau said in a statement.

Beijing usually sees its worst air quality in the fall and winter because of coal use for heating in the capital and its surrounding regions. The statement said January was the capital's first month in autumn and winter without a single day seeing severe air pollution since 2013.