Guidelines attack ozone pollution

China will roll out new guidelines to prevent and control ozone pollution amid rising levels of the pollutant across the country, a government official said on Wednesday.

While the country has seen a steady drop over the past few years in the average concentration of PM2.5 - tiny particles that can damage the lungs - the concentration of harmful ozone gas has been rising steadily since 2015, said Zhao Yingmin, vice-minister of ecology and environment.

At a policy briefing hosted by the State Council Information Office, he said the country will step up emission controls of nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), both of which play a significant role in the formation of ozone in the atmosphere.