HONG KONG – A long-term downward trend has been observed in air pollutant concentrations for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, respirable suspended particulates (PM10), and fine suspended particulates (PM2.5) in the Pearl River Delta region.
A 2024 air quality report jointly released by Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao under the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Pearl River Delta Regional Air Quality Monitoring Network on Friday revealed that the 2024 annual average concentrations for these parameters have declined between 18 percent and 86 percent from their peak levels.
The decline well demonstrates the effectiveness of emission reduction measures implemented across the three places in improving air quality in the Pearl River Delta region, the Environmental Protection Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said in a statement.
Saying that the HKSAR government has implemented various air pollutant emission control measures to enhance air quality, the EPD pointed out that the Air Pollution Control (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, which came into effect in April this year, tightens five existing Air Quality Objectives (AQOs) and adds three new parameters introduced by the World Health Organization to its global air quality guidelines.
Among 15 updated AQOs, seven are set at the most stringent levels under the guidelines, on a par with those of other advanced economies, it added.
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The HKSAR government is committed to phasing out approximately 40,000 Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles by the end of 2027, the department said.
New registrations of fuel-propelled private cars, including hybrids, will cease in 2035 or earlier, and approximately 700 electric buses and 3,000 electric taxis will be introduced by the end of 2027, it added.
Outlining that the SAR government is promoting and implementing the green transformation of vehicles and striving towards zero vehicular emissions by 2050, the EPD said the efforts have produced early results.
“As at end-September 2025, the number of EVs in Hong Kong exceeded 135,000, of which about 132,000 were private cars – nine times the number from six years ago, accounting for 21 percent of all private cars in Hong Kong,” reads the statement.
Since 2019, Hong Kong has collaborated with other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to establish a domestic marine emission control area in the Pearl River Delta, requiring all vessels to use compliant fuel within Hong Kong waters while sailing or at berth.
