Nanjing chokes on pollution post-Youth Games

Residents of Nanjing, Jiangsu province are coughing again after citywide efforts during the 2014 Youth Olympic Games provided a brief respite from the area's heavy air pollution, media reported Monday.

Locals were treated to fresher air and PM2.5 levels around 36 lower than normal levels during the event, the Nanjing Air Quality Assurance Expert team announced on Sunday.

"Two days before the opening of the Games on August 16, we had intensified monitoring to guarantee air quality," said Wang Tijian, the leader of the team and a professor at Nanjing University.

Pollution-cutting measures included halting work at Nanjing's surrounding construction sites and factories.

The media report set off discussion among Net users, with many jibing that residents of China's cities only get to enjoy fresh air during similar international events. Others questioned whether city governments are more concerned with their city's image of the quality of life of its residents.