China’s clean air campaign reduces global smog

Declining levels: Smoke and steam rise from a coal processing plant in Shanxi Province. A report says the amount of harmful air particulates in China fell 40% from 2013 to 2020, almost equalling a 44% drop in the United States over 30 years from 1970. — AP

BEIJING: China has reduced air pollution nearly as much in seven years as the United States did in three decades, helping to bring down average global smog levels.

The amount of harmful particulates in the air in China fell 40% from 2013 to 2020, according to the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute, which would add about two years to average life expectancy if sustained.