Increase in PM10 concentration in 18 cities in Henan Province

The ninth meeting of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress of Henan Province heard a report on the prevention and control of atmospheric pollution in Henan Province in the first half of the year.

The report pointed out that the average concentration of PM10 in the 18 provinces of Henan Province in the first half of this year reached 148 μg/m3, which was a further increase over the same period of last year. The number of excellent days under the PM10 normal index was 112 days, a year-on-year decrease of 11.7%.

Zhang Weining, deputy governor of Henan Province, introduced that atmospheric pollutants emitted by high energy-consuming and high-emission industries such as metallurgy, building materials, chemicals, and coal in Henan accounted for over 30% of the total pollution load. And the proportion of coal in the energy consumption structure is higher than the national average by 15 percentage points. These structural contradictions have led to a longer cycle of air pollution control in Henan Province.

The report shows that since the beginning of this year, the number of motor vehicles in Henan has surpassed 19.1 million, and continues to grow at an annual rate of about 4.5%. Among them, the number of yellow-standard vehicles and old vehicles has reached 1.727 million, which are affected by regulations, funds, and interest groups. The elimination of these vehicles requires a process that brings severe restrictions on the prevention and control of atmospheric pollution in Henan Province.

Zhang Weining said that in the next stage, the Henan Provincial Government will formulate measures to implement ecological compensation for atmospheric pollutants and establish a new energy-saving and emission-reduction mechanism for “who is responsible for pollution, who is responsible, more emissions, more burden, and benefits from energy conservation and emission reduction”. Measures to promote air pollution prevention and control.