In Wednesday's Papers: PM2.5 Leads to Thousands of Premature Deaths in 2012, Henan Official Loses Nomination after Criticisms

A joint report by Greenpeace and the Peking University School of Health says that high PM2.5 levels led to an estimated 8,572 premature deaths in four large Chinese cities this year. The analysis was based on statistical models of PM2.5 data from 2004 to 2009 in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi'an to evaluate the health damage, deaths and economic impact of PM2.5, or fine particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in size. The study found that in 2010 alone, PM2.5 caused 7,770 premature deaths, and 6.17 billion yuan in economic losses in the four cities. This year, the central government identified PM2.5 as a major component in the battle against air pollution.

Original article on Caixin