Authorities deal with 178 air pollution cases since March

The capital's environment authorities have stepped up their efforts to crack down on pollution since the Air Pollution Prevention Regulations took effect on March 1st.

Beijing's environment enforcement authorities have dealt with a total of 178 pollution cases since the release of the new regulations, with the total fine collected reaching 3.5 million Yuan, or 580,000 US dollars. The stricter policies come in the wake of the city's poor air quality record in recent years.

According to a government report, Beijing has seen only 176 days of good or moderate air quality in 2013. Meanwhile, the number of days with moderately polluted, heavily polluted and hazardous air conditions was at over 100 days.