The Environmental Protection Department today said that the air quality of Hong Kong has shown a discernible improvement in the last decade, as shown in the reduction of pollutants during the period.

At a press briefing this afternoon, the department unveiled air quality data that was recorded by its monitoring stations.

The annual average concentrations of respirable suspended particulates, fine suspended particulates, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide in the ambient air fell to 62% from 2013 to 2022.

The period also saw a reduction of the annual average pollutants concentrations at the roadside to 64%.

The annual average concentration of ozone gradually turned steady in the past few years while the number of hours of low visibility was greatly reduced by 74% from its peak in 2004.

As regards the regional ozone issue, the department said the governments of Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macau are conducting a three-year study to better understand the origin of ozone formation and its transportation characteristics, with the findings to be used to devise improvement measures.

Additionally, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government plans to set up in Hong Kong a supersite for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The supersite will be equipped with world-class advanced equipment to further enhance the city's regional air pollution monitoring and forecasting capability for the effective monitoring of the regional distribution of ozone and its precursor pollutants with the objective of mapping out suitable emission control strategies at a regional level.