Via UBS:
China as a whole: Unhealthy Air Quality continues to the end of February
In the last 2 weeks of Feb, data from UBS Evidence Lab shows >50% of provinces registered worse Air Quality Index (AQI) readings y/y even though the comparison should have benefited from less industrial activity with Chinese New Year being later this year; this continues a trend of worse air quality seen since mid-Dec. We note 70% of provinces have an AQI >100 which is “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups”; in our opinion, Chinese authorities are likely to see this as unacceptable medium longer-term.
