To continue improving its air quality, Harbin, capital city of Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, will work to upgrade or remove coal-fired boilers, according to information from Harbin Coal-fired Boiler Elimination Meeting held on Sept 17.

Statistics reveal that from 2011 to 2017, a total of 5,000 coal-fired boilers were shut down in the capital, in a move that has resulted in more days of air quality rated either “good” or “excellent”.

This year, Harbin plans to remove a total of 1,269 coal-fired boilers.

As of Sept 16, 274 of the boilers have been dismantled or shut down, accounting for 21.6 percent of the total number. Meanwhile, 414 boilers are currently in the process of being demolished; and another 580 are awaiting demolition.

Harbin is working to speed up its boiler demolition program to prevent air pollution during the winter months.