ZHENGZHOU: Despite two-digit economic growth in the third quarter, both air and water pollution dropped for the first time thanks to intensified environmental protection efforts.

The latest figures from the environmental watchdog show that in the first nine months, emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), the major air pollutant, hit 19.06 million tons, down 1.81 percent year on year. Chemical oxygen demand (COD), a key water pollution index, was 10.44 million tons, down 0.28 percent.

Zhou Shengxian, head of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), released the figures at the national water pollution control conference yesterday in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan.