China continues to battle air pollution

Wednesday marks the World Environment Day, with the theme of "Breathing and Working Together". In China, concern over the worsening pollution in big cities has become part of the national discourse and debate among citizens.

Heavy smog and haze have often dominated headlines across the nation.

Alarms have been triggered...and public complaints are mounting.

According to a report released annually by China's Ministry of Environmental Protection, only a quarter of the 113 key environmental protection cities reached their environmental targets in 2012.

Heavy smog has shrouded the capital many times since January, raising health concerns among residents. For me, a mask like this has become a daily necessity. But the smog is unlikely to go away any time soon.

Dense haze was common during the first and fourth quarters of 2012.

Authorities have increased efforts for transparency. They accelerated the construction of a network for real-time monitoring of air quality, and have made the data available to the public.

NGOs also play an important role in helping people get informed and involved in environmental protection.

"We provide these devices to help the public make reliable assessments. It allows them to know more about the environment. All this is free. We also have equipment to monitor noise and magnetic fields. We want to motivate public awareness and promote better protection of the environment," said He Xiaoxia, director of Green Beagle Institute.

Ma Jun is one of China's leading environmentalists.

He says the core reason for pollution is lack of awareness and effective measures during China's decades of rapid industrialization and urbanization.

Ma Jun said, "Now, we are too much dependent on the heavy polluting industries, so we need to restructure our economy. With that, we can change the growth model."

Experts say efforts to combat air pollution should be integrated into city planning, economic restructuring and ecological progress campaigns, in order to reduce the city's already strained downtown resources and space.