Effective pollution controls adopted in 161 major Chinese cities have greatly improved air quality, a green organization said last Monday.

一家绿色环保组织上周一表示，中国161座主要城市采取的有效的污染防治措施使空气质量大幅改善。

Of the cities, 90 percent have reached their goals, and 14 have managed to cut their PM2.5 concentration by over 20 percent, said Fu Lu, head of the China office of Clean Air Asia, an environmental group headquartered in Manila, the Philippines.

总部位于菲律宾马尼拉的环保组织"亚洲清洁空气中心"的中国区总监付璐表示，在这些城市中，90%达到了目标，其中14座城市的PM2.5浓度降幅超过20%。

Last year, major pollutants¹ such as sulfur² dioxide were reduced 21.9 percent year-on-year, and the average PM2.5 reading was lowered by 14.1 percent in the cities, the report said, citing data from the Ministry³ of Environmental Protection.

该报告引用环境保护部的数据称，去年，这些城市的二氧化硫等主要污染物同比下降了21.9%，而PM2.5的降幅则为14.1%。

PM2.5 refers to particulate⁴ matter with a diameter less than 2.5 microns that poses risks to human health.

PM2.5是指直径小于2.5微米的可吸入颗粒物，它会给人类健康带来风险。

But eight cities saw increases in PM2.5 levels, Fu said.

不过，付璐称，有8座城市的PM2.5浓度升高，

Among the eight, Zhengzhou and Jiaozuo in Henan saw PM2.5 increase by 9% over 2014, and Yingkou, Shandong, experienced a 23% increase.

其中河南郑州和焦作的PM2.5浓度比2014年升高9%，山东营口的PM2.5浓度上升了23%。

The other cities with higher PM 2.5 levels were Sanmenxia, Henan province; Zaozhuang and Rizhao, Shandong province; Changchun, Jilin province; and Langfang, Hebei province, the report said.

报告指出，PM2.5浓度升高的城市还有河南省三门峡、山东省枣庄、山东省日照、吉林省长春及河北省廊坊。

"Reducing pollution is not a simple issue that only needs strong determination. It also requires scientific and technological⁵ support," said He Kebin, head of the School of Environment at Tsinghua University.

清华大学环境学院院长贺克斌表示：“减少污染不是一个简单的需要强有力的决心的问题。它还需要科学和技术的支持。”