00:00 Skies like this were once typical for Beijing and other major Chinese cities.
00:06 The air pollution was so bad that people wore face masks to help them breathe.
00:12 Faced with a global reputation for the worst smog, dubbed by residents as an "airpocalypse,"
00:18 the Chinese government launched an ambitious multi-billion dollar war against pollution
00:23 in 2014.
00:25 A decade later, those efforts are paying off.
00:29 According to a new report, in 2021, China's pollution levels had fallen 42 percent from
00:35 2013.
00:37 According to the annual Air Quality Life Index report, the improvement means that Chinese
00:43 people can now expect to live 2.2 years longer.
00:48 Beijing province experienced the steepest decline, dropping just over 56 percent in
00:54 just eight years.
00:56 The better air quality in the city means residents living there could expect to add another 4.2
01:02 years to their lives.
01:03 The government has instituted a number of measures to fight pollution, including limiting
01:09 the number of cars on the road in major cities, banning new coal plants from the most polluted
01:15 areas, and replacing coal stoves in millions of homes with gas heaters.
01:21 But while progress has been significant, the report cautioned that China remains the 13th
01:27 most polluted country.
01:29 Despite more blue skies in Beijing, the city's particulate pollution in the air is still
01:35 40 percent higher than that of the most polluted county in the U.S.
01:40 Still, the report concluded that when there are resources and political will, governments
01:46 can make the changes necessary to tackle air pollution.
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