Deng Kajia/ Shanghai Daily news

Shanghai residents experienced 18 consecutive days of excellent air quality ending on Tuesday, which exceeded last year's record of 11 days, the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau said yesterday.

The city’s air quality has been“excellent”or“good”this entire month. But the quality may worsen in the next few days because of a low pressure system and humid weather coinciding with the plum rain season, which began yesterday.

Shanghai has had 144 days with excellent or good air quality this year as of yesterday, accounting for 83.7 percent of total days, nearly three percentage points lower from the same period a year ago.

The environmental authority said they would take effective measures to control pollutant discharges and ensure 85 percent of days have good air this year.

Shanghai along with 46 other cities began recording air quality every day since 2000, according to the State Environmental Protection Administration of China.