China's rapid development and industrialization has been recently linked to a rise in air pollution levels, measured by the level of PM2.5 in the air, and an increase in the number of subsequent deaths from air pollution exposure.

A research study published by the Lancet found that:

"The average annual population-weighted PM2.5 exposure in China was 52.7 μg/m3 (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 41.0–62.8) in 2017, which is 9% lower than in 1990 (57.8 μg/m3, 45.0–67.0). We estimated that 1.24 million (95% UI 1.08–1.40) deaths in China were attributable to air pollution in 2017, including 851 660 (712 002–990 271) from ambient PM2.5 pollution, 271 089 (209 882–346 561) from household air pollution from solid fuels, and 178 187 (67 650–286 229) from ambient ozone pollution.

The age-standardised DALY (disability-adjusted life years) rate attributable to air pollution was 1513.1 per 100 000 in China in 2017, and was higher in males (1839.8 per 100 000) than in females (1198.3 per 100 000)."

The Beijing Ecological Environment Monitoring Center publishes real-time air quality data, including PM2.5 levels in various Beijing locations. It does not, however, show historical data. Historical data is available via the World Air Quality Index project.

There have been many claims that the official air pollution indicators are under-reported compared to independent measurements performed at the US Embassy via the US Department of State Air Quality Measurement Project. This project also has historical data but only until the year 2017. Statista claims to have yearly data from the US Department of State up to 2021. In recent years, the discrepancy between official and US data seems to have significantly decreased.