An air quality report released by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Ecology and the Environment on Sept 8 revealed that the average concentration of PM 2.5 in Jiangsu province was 20.7 micrograms, a year-on-year increase of 0.5 percent, and 75.2 percent of days had good air quality, down 11.9 percentage points compared with the same period of last year.

Despite this decline in air quality, Rudong was determined in the report to have the second cleanest air among all 54 cities and counties in East China’s Jiangsu province in August.

The 10 cities or counties with the best air quality were Dongtai, Rudong, Funing, Dafeng, Yandu, Suining, Pizhou, Jianhu, Qidong, and Hongze, while the 10 cities or counties with the worst air quality were Danyang, Peixian, Jiangyin, Jintan, Donghai, Changshu, Baoying, Ganyu, Zhangjiagang, and Jiangyan.