According to the Beijing Times, Beijing's Environmental Protection Monitoring Center announced that the capital has recorded 234 days of air quality reaching the second level or above in 2005 and exceeded the goal of 63% days of the year with good air quality by a margin of four days.

In 2005, the number of days with good air quality in Beijing constituted 64.1% of the year, an increase of five days over that of 2004.

A relevant official of Beijing Environment Protection Bureau said that Beijing's improved air quality in 2005 could largely be attributed to local environmental protection authorities adopting effective measures to control coal consumption and pollution caused by motor vehicles and requiring industrial boilers to install desulfurizing devices.

The capital's improved climatic conditions also contributed to the successful fulfillment of its blue sky promise.

(Chinanews.com January 2, 2006)