The Ministry of Ecology and Environment notified the results of the national air quality forecast meeting for the middle and late March, 2019

On March 15th, the China National Environmental Monitoring Center, in conjunction with the National Meteorological Center, six main regional air quality forecasting centers and Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center, conducted a national air quality forecasting consultation for mid-to-late March. In the middle and late March, the air quality in southern China is mainly excellent or good. Light pollution may occur in the inland of East China, South China including Guangdong and Guangxi, and Southwest China’s Sichuan Basin. Most of the northern China areas are forecast mainly to have good or lightly polluted air quality. On March 17 to 19, moderate pollution is expected to hit the middle area of Beijing-Tianjin-Hubei region, and a few cities may experience severe pollution. The primary pollutants will be PM_2.5, PM₁₀ and O₃.

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding areas: On March 16th, the air quality in the northern part of the region is expected to be excellent or good, and the air quality of the central and southern parts will be mainly good or lightly polluted. On the 17th, the central part of Hebei, the western Shandong Province and northern Henan Province are expected to be dominated by light to moderate pollution, while other areas will have good quality air or light pollution. From March 18th to 19th, the western Shandong Province is likely to be dominated by light to moderate pollution. A few cities in the central part of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei may experience severe pollution, while other areas will mainly have light to light pollution. On the 20th, most of the region will be dominated by good air quality or light pollution, and moderate pollution may occur in southern Hebei Province and northern Henan Province. From March 21st to 31st, the air quality in the northern part of the region is likely to be excellent or good, and the southern and central region will have good air quality to light pollution. On the 22nd, most of the region is expected to be dominated by good air or light pollution. For Beijing, the air quality will be mainly good to lightly polluted from March 16th to 17th, and on March 18th and 19th, it is likely to be mainly suffering moderate to heavy pollution, and from March 20th to 25th, the region will enjoy good air quality, from March 26th to 31st, a continuous pollution is expected to occur, while the degree of pollution is pending near-term judgment for accuracy.

As to the Yangtze River Delta region, the air quality of northern part will be good to lightly polluted while the southern part will be fine from March 16th to 19th. From March 20th to 23rd, the central and northern parts of the region are likely to be dominated by light pollution while the air quality of the southern part is expected to be excellent or good. From 24th to 26th, the northern inland is forecasted to be slightly polluted while the other areas are likely to have good air quality. From 27th to 31st, the northern and central parts of the region are forecasted to be lightly polluted while the southern part will be fine.

For Fenwei Plain covering 13 cities or districts in Shaanxi, Shanxi and Henan provinces, the air quality will be mainly good on March 16th for most part of the area while light pollution may cover some local areas. On 17th and 18th, most areas are expected to have good or lightly polluted air. On 19th, it will be mainly good for the central Shaanxi and northwestern Henan, while light pollution may occur in the northwestern part of Henan Province, whereas the southwestern part of Shanxi Province is forecast to be dominated by good to lightly polluted air. On March 20th, the region as a whole is expected to enjoy good-quality air. From 21st to 25th, most of the regions are forecast to have good quality air with some local areas lightly polluted. From March 26th to 29th, most of the region is likely to be dominated by good quality air or light pollution.

As to Northeast China, most of the region is likely to be dominated by good-quality air to light pollution with fine air quality for a few areas from March 16th to 19th. The area as a whole will enjoy fine air with mild pollution for some areas from 20th to 22th. From 23rd to 31st, most of the areas are expected to have fine air quality with some areas slightly polluted. As it is expected to be affected by burning straws, the level of air pollution may be slightly higher than the existing forecasts.

For South China, the air quality in the northern and coastal areas of Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi is forecast to be excellent or good from March 16th to 18th, and that of other areas are forecast to be mainly good to lightly polluted. From 19th to 20th, it will be mainly excellent or good for Hubei, Hunan and coastal areas. Other areas are forecast to have good air quality, while the central and western parts of the Pearl River Delta and part of the eastern Guangdong are likely to be lightly polluted. From 21st to 23rd, the region is forecast to be dominated by excellent or good air quality. From 24th to 28th, the air quality of Hubei, Hunan, northern Guangdong and Guangxi, as well as the coastal areas is expected to be excellent or good, while the other areas are to have mainly good air quality, and the central and western parts of the Pearl River Delta are forecast to be lightly polluted. From 29th to 31st, the region is forecast to have excellent or good air quality.

For the Southwestern China region, most cities in Chengdu-Chongqing Region are forecast to have excellent or good air quality, while several cities may suffer from light pollution in a short time. From 23rd to 25th, most of the region is expected to be mainly excellent. From 26th to 31st, most cities in Chengdu-Chongqing Region are to enjoy excellent or good air quality, with only a few cities may be lightly polluted in a short time.

As to the Northwestern China region, it is forecast to be dominated by good quality on March 16th, while light pollution is forecast for some areas. From 17th to 20th, most of the region is forecast to be dominated by good quality air or light pollution. Among them, Central Shaanxi and Southern Shaanxi areas are forecast to have excellent or good air quality on March 19th. From 21st to 24th, the air quality of most of the region is forecast to be mainly good with light pollution for some areas. From 25th to 28th, most of the region is expected to be dominated by good quality air or light pollution. On March 29th, most of the region is likely to be dominated by good quality air or light pollution. As the Southern Xinjiang region is expected to be continuously affected by sand and dust weather, so the area will be mainly covered by moderate to heavy pollution.

Source: SEPB

(The English version is for your reference only. In case any discrepancy between the English and Chinese context, the Chinese version shall prevail.)