Ambient Air Quality Standards (National Standard GB 3095—2026).

These Standards are formulated to implement the Environmental Protection Law and the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, aiming to protect and improve the ecological environment, and safeguard public health.
The Standards stipulate the classification of ambient air functional zones, standard grading, pollutant items, average time and concentration limits, monitoring methods, validity provisions for data statistics, as well as implementation and supervision. The thresholds specifically target four major air pollutants — PM2.5 and PM10 particulate matter, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. These Standards are broadly in line with the Phase 2 interim targets of the latest World Health Organization Global Air Quality Guidelines, which were updated in September 2021.
The people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government may establish local ambient air quality standards for pollutant items not specified in these Standards; for pollutant items specified in the Standards, they may establish stricter local ambient air quality standards.