Three cities have reached their environmental improvement goals with sharp reductions in airborne particulate pollution matters after having serious talks with environmental protection authorities, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said.

The ministry held talk-down sessions with city governments due to their poor performances in environmental control, especially due to their severe air pollution in 2015.

On Feb 8, 2015, the Ministry of Environmental Protection hosted talks with the government of Cangzhou city in Hebei province, with Linyi city of Shandong province on Feb 25, and with the Zhengzhou city of Henan province on July 28.

The talk-down sessions from the ministry pushed the cities' decision-makers forward to take serious efforts in reducing pollution.

According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, 2015 saw 203 days of good air quality in Cangzhou city, an increase of 59 days than that of 2014.

The average reading of PM2.5 – particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 microns that pose risks to human health – dropped by 20.5 percent year-on-year.

Linyi in Shandong province has seen the PM2.5 the reduction of 17.4 percent while Zhengzhou in Henan province with the reduction of 20 percent, it added.

After the talks, the cities governments have taken tougher efforts to control the pollutant emissions, and polluters have received severe punishments.

For example, all 13 companies exposed with discharging excessive pollutants in Linyi city have received heavier fines with the total amount of 2.44 million yuan ($376,000) and nine managers have been detained.

In 2015, the city has investigated 1,462 cases involved with destroying and polluting the environment; an increase of 76 percent year-on-year, with 70 million yuan in total fines, an increase of 132 percent.