Beijing sees PM2.5 drop in first five months

Beijing saw a drop in air pollution in the first five months of the year due to tougher inspections of sources of pollution, the environmental watchdog said.

The level of PM2.5 - fine particulate matter that can be hazardous to health - declined by 18.3 percent compared with the same period last year, the capital's environmental protection bureau said on Thursday. The average PM2.5 concentration from January to May was 58 micrograms per cubic meter of air.

But in May, the average PM2.5 concentration was 54 mcg/cubic meter, 8 percent more than in May last year.