2018: China's surface water quality improves

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China saw a general improvement in its surface water quality in 2018, according to the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment on Monday.

From January to December 2018, 71 percent of the country's surface water was graded between Class I and III, meaning the water quality was fine, with a year-on-year increase of 3.1 percentage points. The area of Class V water, meaning bad quality, accounted for 6.7 percent, down 1.6 percentage points than that in 2017.

First curve of the Yangtze River, Yunnan, SW China. /VCG Photo

The water quality of rivers in south- and north-west China last year was rated as "excellent." In the Yangtze River and Pearl River basins, and in the east China provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian, the water was rated as "good" in the past year.

Compared with the year of 2017, water quality in the Yellow River, Huaihe, and Haihe River basins improved. However, the quality in the Liaohe and Songhua River basins declined.

Dianchi Lake, Yunnan, SW China. /VCG Photo

Of the 111 key lakes and reservoirs that were monitored, those with excellent and good water quality accounted for 66.7 percent, an increase of 4.2 percentage points year-on-year. 8.1 percent of the water in lakes and reservoirs was graded as Class V, dropping 2.6 percentage points compared with 2017.

In particular, the water quality of the Dianchi Lake in southwest China's Yunnan Province improved substantially.

China has a five-tier grading system for surface water quality, with Class I being the most optimal.