--- description: Air quality in Beijing improved in 2015 despite several "red alert" warnings issued by the government for dangerous smog conditions title: Beijing Air Pollution: Air Quality Improved Despite Warnings image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2408769c759c52f3/6988777fa988cab2df6b5f32/beijing-air-pollution.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Beijing Air Quality Improved in 2015 Despite Pollution Warnings  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jan 5, 2016 12:58 PM CUT  A pedestrian walks amid heavy smog in Beijing on Dec. 29, 2015. A pedestrian walks amid heavy smog in Beijing on Dec. 29, 2015.Wu Wei/Xinhua News Agency  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jan 5, 2016 12:58 PM CUT Air quality in Beijing improved in 2015 despite several “red alert” warnings issued by the government for dangerous smog conditions, officials said Monday. The Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau reported that the concentration of particulate matter—a mixture of pollutants that harm human health—in the city declined by more than 6% between 2014 and 2015, according to a _China Daily_ [report](http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2016-01/05/content%5F22932547.htm "undefined"). Air quality exceeded the national standard more than half the year and the improvement exceeded their target of reducing pollution by 5%, officials said. The news comes as China continues to face internal pressure to reduce smog and make cities more livable. The concentration of particulate matter still remains at more than eight times the level deemed acceptable for human health by the World Health Organization. Recent research has shown that smog in China [contributes](http://time.com/3997626/china-pollution-study/ "undefined") to more than 1.5 million premature deaths each year. A warning system launched in the city two years ago takes cars off the road and mandates the closing of factories to stem the most dangerous smog conditions. [Changing weather patterns](http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/cd91669a-b38c-11e5-b147-e5e5bba42e51.html#slide0 "undefined") may have also contributed to last year’s improvement. **Read More:** [China Shows It’s Getting Serious About Climate Change](http://time.com/4050702/china-shows-its-getting-serious-about-climate-change/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4167351/beijing-air-quality-pollution/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4167351/beijing-air-quality-pollution/"},"headline":"Beijing Air Quality Improved in 2015 Despite Pollution Warnings","datePublished":"2016-01-05T12:58:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:46:36.271Z","description":"Air quality is still really unhealthy","url":"https://time.com/4167351/beijing-air-quality-pollution/","keywords":["Environment","China"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2408769c759c52f3/6988777fa988cab2df6b5f32/beijing-air-pollution.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2408769c759c52f3/6988777fa988cab2df6b5f32/beijing-air-pollution.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"beijing air pollution","caption":"beijing air pollution","creditText":"Wu Wei/Xinhua News Agency","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4167351/beijing-air-quality-pollution/","name":"Beijing Air Quality Improved in 2015 Despite Pollution Warnings"}}]}] ```