Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province, is a major center in China for energy production and metallurgical industries, and one of the world’s most air polluted cities. To combat air pollution, the Shanxi Provincial Government implemented many new environmental policies and regulations in the past decade, like setting pollutant emissions standards, and promoting energy efficiency. This worked—the measures have substantially improved the health of people living there. The measures were associated with almost 3,000 fewer premature deaths in the city, some 30,000 fewer hospital admissions, 140,000 fewer outpatient visits, nearly 1,000 fewer ER visits, and 1,000 fewer cases of bronchitis. The air is still not clean, but these study results will hopefully inspire the government to keep improving the air quality.
Cleaner air saves lives in Chinese city
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