GUANGZHOU — Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province, reported better air quality last year, according to the city's ecology and environment bureau.

The city's average concentration of PM2.5 was 23 micrograms per cubic meter in 2020, compared to 30 micrograms per cubic meter in 2019, meeting the country's air quality standard of 35 micrograms per cubic meter for the fourth consecutive year, the bureau said.

Guangzhou's average PM2.5 reading was 35 micrograms per cubic meter in both 2017 and 2018.

The PM2.5 reading is a gauge monitoring airborne particles of 2.5 microns or less in diameter, which can penetrate deep into people's lungs.

To further improve Guangzhou's air quality, the city, with a population of more than 10 million, has taken a spate of measures including cutting coal consumption, limiting the number of vehicles on city roads, and reducing dust and kitchen fume emissions.

The city lowered the coal consumption of major enterprises by 1.64 million tons in the first 11 months of the year, eliminated heavily polluting vehicles and replaced more gasoline-powered buses and taxis with new energy vehicles.