Bad to worse: ranking 74 Chinese cities by air pollution

Ranking

We’ve mined the data and produced a ranking of 74 Chinese cities by levels of PM2.5 air pollution.

The figures were taken from official data published by the Ministry of Environmental Protection for the year of 2013, but we’ve sorted them by ranking to understand exactly where and how deep the air pollution problem extends across the country.

A few of our key findings:

Almost 92% of these cities have average annual PM2.5 air pollution concentrations that fail to reach the national standard (which is 35 micrograms per cubic meter).
Of the top 10 worse polluted cities in our ranking, seven are located in Hebei Province, the province that surrounds Beijing. Beijing sits outside the top 10, at number 13.
Air pollution in cities located within the Yangtze River Delta region (including Shanghai) is also becoming increasingly serious.
Many cities in the central and western provinces are seeing air pollution levels twice the national standard.

2013: Annual average PM2.5 concentrations of 74 Chinese cities

Ranking	City	Province	Annual average PM2.5 level (micrograms per cubic meter)	Average of the maximum daily PM2.5 level (micrograms per cubic meter)
1	Xingtai	Hebei	155.2	688
2	Shijiazhuang	Hebei	148.5	676
3	Baoding	Hebei	127.9	675
4	Handan	Hebei	127.8	662
5	Hengshui	Hebei	120.6	712
6	Tangshan	Hebei	114.2	497
7	Jinan	Shandong	114.0	490
8	Langfang	Hebei	113.8	772
9	Xi’an	Shaanxi	104.2	598
10	Zhengzhou	Henan	102.4	422
11	Tianjin	Tianjin	95.6	394
12	Cangzhou	Hebei	93.6	380
13	Beijing	Beijing	90.1	646
14	Wuhan	Hubei	88.7	339
15	Chengdu	Sichuan	86.3	374
16	Urumqi	Xinjiang	85.2	387
17	Hefei	Anhui	84.9	383
18	Taizhou	Jiangsu	80.9	474
19	Huai’an	Jiangsu	80.8	513
20	Changsha	Hunan	79.1	325
21	Wuxi	Jiangsu	75.8	391
22	Harbin	Heilongjiang	75.7	756
23	Changzhou	Jiangsu	75.6	322
24	Nanjing	Jiangsu	75.3	312
25	Xuzhou	Jiangsu	74.9	304
26	Taiyuan	Shanxi	74.2	416
27	Huzhou	Zhejiang	73.5	414
28	Shenyang	Liaoning	72.7	464
29	Zhenjiang	Jiangsu	71.6	263
30	Yangzhou	Jiangsu	71.1	312
31	Suqian	Jiangsu	70.7	502
32	Nantong	Jiangsu	70.2	248
33	Changchun	Jilin	69.2	425
34	Nanchang	Jiangxi	69.1	255
35	Jinhua	Zhejiang	69.0	473
36	Lianyungang	Jiangsu	68.0	407
37	Lanzhou	Gansu	67.1	259
38	Suzhou	Jiangsu	67.1	384
39	Yancheng	Jiangsu	67.0	455
40	Jiaxing	Zhejiang	66.9	417
41	Quzhou	Zhejiang	66.5	406
42	Shaoxing	Zhejiang	66.4	426
43	Hangzhou	Zhejiang	66.1	361
44	Qinhuangdao	Hebei	65.2	335
45	Chongqing	Chongqing	63.9	187
46	Xining	Qinghai	63.2	319
47	Qingdao	Shandong	61.7	280
48	Shanghai	Shanghai	60.7	421
49	Hohhot	Inner Mongolia	59.1	216
50	Wenzhou	Zhejiang	56.5	248
51	Zhaoqing	Guangdong	54.7	174
52	Nanning	Guangxi	54.7	199
53	Taizhou	Zhejiang	53.0	284
54	Foshan	Guangdong	52.3	160
55	Guangzhou	Guangdong	52.2	159
56	Chengde	Hebei	51.5	407
57	Dalian	Liaoning	50.7	224
58	Ningbo	Zhejiang	50.4	416
59	Guiyang	Guizhou	49.4	229
60	Jiangmen	Guangdong	48.4	158
61	Lishui	Zhejiang	47.9	196
62	Zhongshan	Guangdong	47.6	146
63	Dongguan	Guangdong	46.0	165
64	Yinchuan	Ningxia	43.7	164
65	Zhangjiakou	Hebei	43.1	471
66	Shenzhen	Guangdong	39.7	131
67	Zhuhai	Guangdong	37.9	157
68	Huizhou	Guangdong	37.2	121
69	Kunming	Yunnan	35.5	123
70	Fuzhou	Fujian	33.2	112
71	Zhoushan	Zhejiang	32.1	353
72	Xiamen	Fujian	31.3	89
73	Lhasa	Tibet	26.0	101
74	Haikou	Hainan	25.6	130

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