Beijing environmental authorities said Tuesday that the capital’s average monthly concentration of PM 2.5 in August dropped to 23 micrograms per cubic meter and the average concentration of PM 2.5 from January to August was 42 micrograms per cubic meter, which hit a record low in history since monitoring.

Yu Jianhua, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment, said the city’s air quality had been improving continuously in the first eight months this year and August saw the first time that the monthly average concentration reached 23 micrograms per cubic meter.

“It is also the first time in history that the capital’s monthly average concentration of PM 2.5 - hazardous fine particles with a diameter less than 2.5 microns - was below 30,” he said.