A view of Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/Ningbo Evening News]

Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province was ranked 14th among the 168 major cities nationwide in terms of the air quality in central urban areas in the first quarter, according to a recent report from the Ningbo municipal bureau of ecology and environment.

The report stated that Ningbo's central urban area enjoyed good air quality throughout all the days in the first quarter, up 3.3 percent year-on-year.

The average PM2.5 level was 28 micrograms per cubic meter, ranking second in Zhejiang, while the figure for PM 10 stood at 53 micrograms per cubic meters, coming in third place in the province.

In March, Ningbo was designated a provincial demonstration zone for air quality in 2020.

In order for a city to become a provincial demonstration zone for air quality, its percentage of bad air quality days in the year must be less than 8. The air quality must also reach the national secondary standard and no serious atmospheric emergency accidents should occur within the year.

The sustained efforts from local authorities to combat pollution have been playing a pivotal role in safeguarding the city's air quality. This year, the city plans to rectify an additional 1,500 polluting enterprises and upgrade 25 small and micro-sized industrial parks.                             

A view of Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/Ningbo Evening News]

A view of Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/Ningbo Evening News]