The air in 70 percent of Chinese cities does not meet standards, the result of air quality monitoring says. With the rapid rise of motor vehicle number, the emission of the motor vehicle has become a prime source of air pollution in many cities.

Statistics from the State Environmental Protection Administration show carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon discharged by motor vehicles have accounted for 80 percent of total amount of pollutant discharged in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou; In Shenzhen, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide account for 64.9 percent, 70.6 percent and 94.5 percent of total discharged pollutant amount.

By 2005, the motor vehicle emission will take 79 percent of urban air pollution, says the State Environmental Protection Administration. China has successful curbed the air pollution caused by coal burning. Therefore the car's emission's influence on air quality becomes more and more notable. The standards for motor vehicle emission need to be set higher to prevent air pollution effectively.

In recent years, China's motor vehicle industry maintains robust growth. China has become the 4th largest production base of motor vehicles and the 3rd largest consumption country. Its output of automobiles reaches 4.45 million and there are a total of 24.21 million automobiles in China. The output of motorcycle reaches 13.5 million, ranking No.1 in the world. And there are 59.29 million motorcycles in use now. The total number of agricultural vehicles reaches 24 million and the output is 2.9 million.

The pollutant discharged by the vehicles rises continuously with the number of motor vehicle keeps on growing. In 2003, the total amount of hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides emission reached 88.361 million tons, 36.398 million tons and 5.492 million tons, or 2.51 times, 2.05 times and 3.01 times of that in 1995 respectively. In the same period, the emission of other air pollutants like sulfur dioxide, soot and industrial dust drops by 15 percent.

Source: People's Daily Online