Shaanxi denies "watering down" air pollution

Photos showing huge amounts of water being sprayed on air quality monitors in Hanzhong, Shaanxi province, have sparked controversy on the Internet.

The local environment protection bureau while denying the accusation that it was trying to influence the air pollution level claimed the department was spraying water to wash the dirt on the monitors.

However, the bureau admitted that the city government had sent out water trucks to spray plants and roads after several days of air pollution.