China’s rivers and lakes record water-quality gains

China’s surface-water quality improved in the first nine months of 2026, with a larger share in higher-quality categories and a smaller share in the most polluted category.

Figures released by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment on 29 October put 86.1% of monitored surface water in Grades I to III, the higher end of China’s water-quality scale. That was a rise of 1.7 percentage points compared with the same period in 2025. The share rated worse than Grade V fell by 0.4 percentage points to 0.8%.

Across the major river basins and other river systems covered by the report, 87.1% fell within Grades I to III. The Yangtze basin was rated excellent, while the Yellow and Pearl river basins were rated good.

Lakes and reservoirs also improved. Among 145 key sites monitored, 71.7% were in Grades I to III, up two percentage points. The share in the worst category fell by 0.7 percentage points to 3.4%.

The results also show where problems persist. The Songhua basin was classified as lightly polluted, and 45 of the monitored lakes and reservoirs had mild or moderate problems with excess nutrients.