Xiaoyi City has been restricted by the Provincial Department of Ecological Environment because of the worst air quality in the province and its continuous deterioration.

The circular pointed out that in autumn and winter, the comprehensive ambient air quality index of Xiaoyi City ranks the lowest among the counties, cities and regions of the province. Among the six pollutants, PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2 and CO are all within the top 10, and the ambient air quality continues to deteriorate instead of falling compared with the same period last year. In particular, the central eco-environmental protection inspector "looking back" failed to implement the rectification and reform task, and the problem of illegal construction of coking projects was serious and ineffective. The Department of Ecological Environment of Shanxi Province will suspend the examination and approval of the environmental impact assessment of the construction project for the discharge of new air pollutants in Xiaoyi City.