A report analyzing PM2.5's effect on people's health and economic loss issued by Green Peace and Peking University Tuesday said fine particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter are lethal and officials should work out a timetable to reduce them.

The report, jointly written by the NGO and the university's School of Public Health, studied PM2.5 data and mortality statistics from 2004 to 2009 in four Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi'an.

The report estimates there will be 8,572 deaths in those cities caused by PM2.5 pollutants this year, creating an economic loss of 6.8 billion yuan ($109 million).

If air quality in 2012 met standards set by the World Health Organization, some 81 percent of the premature deaths related to PM2.5 would be avoided, said the report.

"In 2010 the death toll caused by PM2.5 in Shanghai is nearly three times that of traffic accidents," said Zhou Rong, climate and energy director of Green Peace, adding that it will take at least 20 years for most of the cities to improve their air quality to national standards, but the public cannot afford to wait that long.

Zhao Hualin, director of the pollution prevention and control department at the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said earlier this month that PM2.5 concentrations in 70 percent of cities will not meet the 2015 pollution targets issued by the ministry earlier.

According to the report, PM2.5 pollution is mainly due to an increase in sulfur dioxide and oxynitride emissions caused by soaring coal consumption.

The two institutions called on governments in polluted areas to work out a clear and progressive timetable to reduce PM2.5 concentrations. Meanwhile, economically advanced regions like Beijing should develop more ambitious plans to control coal consumption.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, research by environmental officials shows that more than 22 percent of the PM 2.5 in downtown Beijing is caused by vehicle exhaust.

There are 35 stations currently scattered around Beijing monitoring the hazardous airborne pollutants.

Officials also said the air quality in Beijing is directly affected by pollution from neighboring cities.

Global Times