(Photo by Nanfang Daily)

Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, saw better air quality last year, the city's ecology and environment bureau said Wednesday.

The average concentration of PM2.5 was 30 micrograms per cubic meter last year, meeting the country's air quality standard for three consecutive years, the bureau said.

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

The city had reported no heavily or severely polluted days for two consecutive years, according to the bureau.

To tackle air pollution, the city has reduced the number of coal-fired boilers to 30 from 1,400 around 2011 and also slashed the coal consumption for major industrial companies.

The city also eliminated polluting vehicles and replaced more gasoline-powered buses with electric buses.

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