Zhang Lijun, vice director of State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), said on Monday that air-monitoring systems show that 48.1% of Chinese cities suffer from serious air pollution. Smaller particles (known as PM10) remain to be the main pollutants.

Zhang said that during an International Air Quality Seminar held in Beijing. He also noted that the number of smaller particles in many Chinese cities was above the general standard set by SEPA, which would further affect people's health. He pointed out that metropolises with millions of people found it more difficult to meet the related standards, and pollutants like SO2 and PM10 had spread in the air very quickly in recent months.

The seminar was sponsored by SEPA, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and European Commission DG Environment.

SEPA has coordinated with Beijing Municipal Government and regions surrounding the capital to improve the air quality for the 2008 Summer Olympics. An Olympic Air Protection Coordination Group will also be set up in the near future.
 
Editor: Yan