China urges regions to take responsibility after smog surge in Yangtze

Beijing

CHINA'S regional governments need to take more responsibility for local pollution and stop blaming others, a senior environmental official said on Tuesday, following increases in smog in the Yangtze and Pearl river delta regions in January.

While nationwide air pollution fell thanks to a tough winter crackdown in smog-prone northern regions, concentrations of small, breathable particles known as PM2.5 surged 20 per cent in the Yangtze delta in eastern China, which includes Shanghai as well as the highly industrialised province of Jiangsu.