(ECNS) -- A national analysis of PM2.5 densities, a main measure of air pollution, found that Hebei Province contributed to 18 percent of the smog in Beijing and 20 percent in Tianjin.
Conducted by the Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning at the Ministry of Environmental Protection, it showed all provincial-level regions except northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region suffered from imported pollution from other areas at different scales.
PM2.5, airborne particles measuring less than 2.5 microns in diameter that can pose health risks, were found to be produced in one place and then transported through the air, ending up elsewhere.
Southern island province Hainan was the biggest victim of transported pollution, with only 28 percent of its PM2.5 being indigenous, while Guangdong, Hunan and Hubei provinces provided 20 percent, nine percent and seven percent respectively.
Hebei, home to most of China's severely polluted cities, also found 38 percent of its PM2.5 originated from other provinces, including 11 percent from neighboring Shandong Province.
While at the same time, the province significantly worsened air quality in neighboring Beijing and Tianjin. Beijing also received four percent from both Tianjin and Shandong Provinces.
The Chinese government is actively pushing forward the integration of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei for coordinated development and better environmental protection.
Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based non-profit organization Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, said the key to improving overall air quality in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region lay in Hebei, which produces a significant chunk of the entire world's steel.
He also said Hebei needs more compensation and support to reduce pollutant emissions.
