BEIJING -- Beijing recorded 290 days of good air quality last year, the highest since monitoring began, the municipal ecology and environment bureau said Thursday.

The number of days with good air quality in the national capital accounted for 79.2 percent in 2024, marking an increase of 19 days compared to the previous year and a significant rise of 114 days compared to 2013.

The number of days with heavy air pollution dropped dramatically, from 58 in 2013 to just two in 2024, a decrease of 96.6 percent.

Beijing's average concentration of PM2.5 reached 30.5 micrograms per cubic meter in 2024, meeting the national standards for four consecutive years. PM2.5 readings, a key indicator of air pollution, are a gauge monitoring airborne particles of 2.5 microns or below in diameter.

Compared to 2013, the annual average concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide in Beijing last year decreased by 65.9 percent, 50 percent, 57.1 percent and 88.7 percent, respectively.