Smog in major China regions worsened in January

Shanghai

THE Yangtze River delta region near Shanghai saw a key measure of smog concentrations rise by a fifth in January, official data showed on Monday, raising fears that the pollution crackdown in northern China has forced heavy industry to move further south.

Though concentrations of small, breathable particles known as PM2.5 fell 17.9 per cent year on year to 64 micrograms per cubic metre in 338 cities nationwide in January, the Yangtze delta registered an aver…