Until recently, measurements were based on phony standards that did not take into account the most dangerous particles released by industrial plants. China's cabinet does a U-turn but to be effective, new standards need a new economic growth model.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The Chinese government has formally adopted new pollution standards encompassing smog-related pollutants such as fine particles after a national outcry over last year's increasingly bad air in urban areas.

The new standards are aimed at easing mounting public discontent over official pollution readings that showed positive air-quality figures, even on smoggy days, the State Council (cabinet) announced after a meeting yesterday.

In addition to social issues and human rights, pollution is China's main problem. Unfettered industrial development has made the mainland on of the most polluted countries in the world. People are increasingly demanding the government do something.

The revised standards should include more honest readings like the level of the ozone, and that of fine particles, known as PM2.5 (airborne particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter), which are a health risk because they penetrate the lungs. Until recently, the problem did not exist for the Environment Ministry. However, the results of measuring PM2.5 will be released only in January 2016.

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, who chaired the state council meeting, also reaffirmed the need for a timetable to monitor smog-related pollutants both in the country's major metropolitan areas as well as in indusrial regions like the Pearl and Yangtze River deltas.

• china
• pollution
• standards
• review
• pm2.5
• particles