According to a report issued by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, emissions from motor vehicles are now the primary source of air pollution in China’s large and medium sized cities.
The annual report on the prevention and control of vehicle pollution points out that the volume of pollutants from motor vehicles across the country in 2009 reached 51.4million tons with cars the primary contributors. One third of 113 major cities failed the air quality test in the same year.
Acid rain and smog have occurred so frequently that some areas have been shrouded in smog for 200 days a year. Vehicle emissions are said to be the main problem with the report noting that in 2009 the number of cars owned by Chinese citizens leapt to 170million – a 9.3 per cent increase year on year and 25 times the ownership levels of 1980.
