HARBIN, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Air quality greatly improved in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province in 2018.

Good air days accounted for 93.5 percent of all days last year, the best since the introduction of a new air quality standard in 2012, according to the third session of the 13th People's Congress of Heilongjiang Province.

Measures regarding environmental protection were taken in Heilongjiang, including prohibiting straw burning in the open air, eliminating 2,185 small coal-fired boilers and planting 78,000 hectares of new forest.

Heilongjiang has set up a supervisory system and held a series of conferences to control straw burning.

The province also strengthened weather alerts and regional cooperation against heavy pollution.

To ensure improvements in air quality in the future, Heilongjiang authorities plan to use green energy in heating, speed up the elimination of small coal-fired boilers and strengthen joint precautions and controlling measures against pollution in 2019.