Residents jog along Xin'an River in Jiande city, Hangzhou, Aug 14, 2019. [Photo by Weng Xinyang/Xinhua]

A report announced by Hangzhou government on June 4 shows that Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, has made progress in improving its environment in 2019.

The number of days considered to have good air quality in urban areas was 287, 18 days more than last year. Jiande led other suburban counties and county-level cities with the highest number of good air days.

Days that qualified as good air days based on the PM2.5 standard in urban areas also grew by 12 to 344. The PM2.5 standard means the 24-hour average concentration of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) that has a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers is lower than 75 micrograms per cubic meter.

The main pollutant in Hangzhou's urban areas and in Chun'an county was ozone, and in Fuyang, Lin'an, Tonglu counties and Jiande city it was PM2.5.

Rivers and lakes in Hangzhou, including Qiandao Lake, Qiantang River, Shaoxi Creek, West Lake, and the Grand Canal, were ranked as "excellent" due to their water quality. The same evaluation also measured the city's surface waters and drinking water sources.

Hangzhou's urban area recorded an environmental noise level of 56.4 decibels, a slight improvement over 2018, while its radiation environmental quality remained good.