Bloomberg: The cost of air pollution in China is rising, as pollution levels continue to rise despite the country’s efforts to control it.
The International Energy Agency said on Tuesday that air pollution levels rose in March, with the average daily PM2.5 count up to 1,400 micrograms.
It said on Monday that China’s air pollution increased by an average of 3.2 percent per day, more than the global average of 2.3 percent.
The world’s second-biggest economy is now the third largest in the world.
Its pollution, which contributes to more than 2 million premature deaths every year, was ranked among the 10 biggest causes of death in 2016.
China’s pollution is so bad that the country last year cut back on public transport and launched a program to reduce traffic emissions.
The country is currently on track to hit a new peak of more than 500 microgram-per-hour of PM2 to 300 microgram per hour by 2020, the agency said.