BEIJING - Beijing municipal government said the construction of the PM2.5 monitoring network is a priority for serving the public in 2012.

To further improve the air quality, Beijing will make efforts to upgrade its  environmental monitoring ability by setting up the PM2.5 monitoring network and start the air pollution control plan, according to a statement released by the municipal government Monday.

The PM2.5 gauge is stricter than Beijing's previous standard of PM10, as it monitors "fine" particles 2.5 microns or less in diameter.

Late last year, environmental authorities in Beijing and other cities faced a flurry of criticism from the public regarding air quality, which was mainly focused on whether PM2.5 should be used to measure air quality.

On January 26, Beijing's environmental authority launched the much-anticipated PM2.5 measurement of air quality to provide more exact air-quality monitoring results.